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| ONE MORE POINT FOR CHEVROLET AFTER INTENSE BATTLE IN BRAZIL |
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| Huff 8th And Menu 10th In Most Competitive Weekend So Far |
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| CURITIBA, 2nd July 2006 - Chevrolet put two cars in the top ten and scored one more point in the World Touring Car Championship (WTCC) thanks to a brilliant eighth place secured by Rob Huff in the second race of the HSBC Race of Brazil. The fifth round of the season, which took place on the Autódromo Internacional de Curitiba, has probably been the most competitive event so far, with teams and drivers being separated by minimal gaps in practice and qualifying and races being more closely fought than ever. |
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| It was a Sunday morning quieter than usual in Curitiba. The defeat of the Seleção against France in the quarter-final of the football World Cup had left the nation speechless and in a state of mourning. Also, weather conditions seemed to have aligned with the general mood: low and grey skies and a lot of mist that obliged to delay the start of the warm-up. By noon, however, the sun was shining over the capital of the State of Paraná, cheering up the mood of the thousands of race fans queuing at the circuit's gates. To show his sympathy to the Brazilian public and share its sadness, the Chevrolet WTCC Racing had prepared a huge sticker carrying the message "É pena, Brasil" ("We are sorry, Brazil") which was displayed on the bonnet of the car of Nicola Larini and attracted a lot of snapshots from the fans during the pit walk before the races. |
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| In Race 1, Rob Huff and Alain Menu finished in 18th and 19th positions, although the gap to the winning Seat of Jordi Gené was only 16 and 17.4 seconds respectively. The Swiss had been hit by D'Aste in one of the fast corners on the first lap and had to pit to change the left front tyre. Fortunately, the pace car went out at that very moment, allowing Alain to rejoin the group with a minimal loss of time. Nicola Larini took a good start and was running 14th on the opening laps before losing power and thus ground, eventually retiring on lap 10 with a broken drivetrain. |
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| Race 2 saw a superb performance by Rob Huff, who brought the Lacetti from 18th on the grid to 8th by the chequered flag. The Brit explained his race: "I had an awful start, but that turned to be helpful, as I was not tangled in the confusion at the first corner. Then I managed to pass Alain on the first lap and 2 or 3 other cars in the opening part of the race. Later on, I was lucky when something happened in the middle group ahead of me and five cars went off. I saw a Seat spinning and turned as tight as I could into the corner and could avoid the mess. At that moment, I was eighth and managed to catch Jörg Müller, but there were yellow flags, so I let him pass again but I could overtake him a second time at the restart. But as the race ended under red flag, the final result is the one of the previous lap, so I finished 8th and not 7th. It has been an exciting race, with a lot of fighting, the car was going better and I could get on battling. I am very happy of how things went". |
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Alain Menu also had a beautiful race and charged up to tenth position, although his race ended brutally on the last lap, as the Lacetti hit the tyre wall in the corner leading onto the straight. "It happened because of the understeering we have been suffering the whole week-end. The car just went wide into the grass and there was nothing I could do. It was a pretty big bang, but I am ok". Eric Nève, Chevrolet Europe's Motorsport Manager, commented: "It was not a lucky weekend for Brazil and it was also a challenging weekend for us. But I am happy that many people turned up today and that this first WTCC event in South America has been a success. It was somehow frustrating to see that our cars were OK in terms of gaps but far in terms of positions. Eventually, with the great race of Rob and Alain, we could score one point and put two cars in the top ten. We now have some work to do on the cars of Alain and Nicola, but everything will be OK for Mexico". The next two races of the WTCC are taking place in Puebla, Mexico on 29-30 July and all cars and equipment is being shipped by boat directly from Brazil tomorrow. |
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| > | Monza Italy (01 - 02 April) |
| > | Magny Cours France (29 - 30 April) |
| > | Brands Hatch Great Britain (20 - 21 May) |
| > | Oschersleben Germany (03 - 04 June) |
| > | Curitiba Brazil (01 - 02 July) |
| > | Puebla Mexico (29 - 30 July) |
| > | Brno Czech Republic (02 - 03 September) |
| > | Istanbul Turkey (23 - 24 September) |
| > | Valencia Spain (07 - 08 October) |
| > | Macau Macau (18 - 19 November) |
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