RML
Team News
Chevrolet 1-2-3 in WTCC. Porto (Rounds 11 & 12), 7th/8th
July 2007. Issued July 9th 2007
1-2-3
Finish for RML Chevrolet
The RML Chevrolet Lacettis ruled the streets with an unprecedented
1-2-3 finish in Portugal for Round 11 of the 2007 World
Touring Car Championship. It was a third win this season
for Alain Menu, with Rob Huff second and Nicola Larini third.
Chevrolet continued its dominance in the streets of Porto
by scoring a historic triple podium in the first of Sunday’s
two races. Alain Menu, Rob Huff and Nicola Larini finished
the incident-packed race in the order they had started in,
letting none of their competitors even have a look at the
podium.
It
was the first time since the beginning of Chevrolet WTCC
programme in 2005 that three Lacetti’s locked out
the podium. For Alain Menu, it was his third 2007 win, and
makes him the first driver to achieve this level of success
this season. Rob Huff scored his first podium finish of
the year and set fastest lap in Race 1, but a misjudgment
and dirty tyres from driving off line left him without points
in Race 2. Menu again finished on the podium in the second
race, after Larini crashed under braking while in third
place.
Menu
now ties with Larini for fifth in the championship, but
takes the position courtesy of his three victories.
Quotes
Alain Menu (1st/3rd)
"Today has been a great day for Chevrolet and the RML
team and I'm very happy for them. If you look back at where
we were when we started in 2005, and here we are now, in
first, second and third... In the second race the track
was very dirty. I tucked in behind Nic at the start and
stayed with him as we moved up the order.
I gave him enough room to pass Tom (Coronel) and managed
to pass the SEAT as well, exiting the same corner. The next
thing I saw was that Nic was in the wall and thus handed
me third place, which I obviously didn't say no to. Being
fifth in the championship, as I will be carrying quite a
bit of weight myself at the next race. Were still only at
the halfway mark and lot can and will still happen. But
in any case, today
was a good day on a street track that typically suited the
Chevrolet Lacetti."
Rob Huff (2nd/11th)
"As I said yesterday, we baked the cake in qualifying
and put the icing and even some cherries’ on top today.
It was a very good day, especially for the boys who have
worked so hard. Alain and I pushed hard at the start, but
between the three of us we knew that none of us was going
to do anything silly. I had two of the world’s best
drivers in front of me and right behind, so I knew I could
just concentrate on keeping my second place. In the second
race I misjudged passing Yvan (Muller) going into Turn 2,
and then the wheels locked, so I ended up in the wall. I’m
really sorry for the team."
Nicola
Larini (3rd/20th)
As
Rob said, we were not going to try anything tricky between
ourselves. Considering the ballast I was running, keeping
my third place was the best I could hope for. With the reversed
grid for race 2, my strategy was 'maximum attack' as to
score as many points as possible. Everything worked well
and after the safety car I
had a good run at Coronel and passed him for third. Then,
defending my position on the straight I must have picked
up some dirt going off-line and lost all grip when I braked,
ending up in the wall. I’m really disappointed."
Ray Mallock (CEO
RML Limited, Team Principal)
"An awesome result for the team! Today has been another
important milestone for us, whereby the professionalism
of the team and the way we go about achieving the best for
the whole team in every area clearly showed. To have Alain
finish on the podium twice is the best proof of that."
Eric Neve (Motorsport Manager Chevrolet
Europe)
"What a valuable day! It was good to see that many
expressive faces in this friendly country where Chevrolet
and RML demonstrated the reliability of the Lacetti in its
natural environment."
Chevrolet
Racing Insight on the Web
Throughout
the 2007 WTCC season, Chevrolet Insight will
give you a behind-the-scenes look at the Chevrolet WTCC
racing team. On Saturday and Sunday, media and fans alike
will get the latest information and can ask their questions
via the web in Chevrolet's own web cast. Visit www.chevrolet-insight.com.
There are regular airings during the race weekend, and then
a full 15-minute review programme can be viewed at any time
after the event.
PORTO
Race 1 Result
1.
A Menu Chevrolet Lacetti 13 laps in 34m07s853 (Ave: 107.70kph)
2. R Huff Chevrolet Lacetti + 0s837
3. N Larini Chevrolet Lacetti + 1s618
4. G Tarquini SEAT Leon + 1s929
5. Y Muller SEAT Leon + 5s418
PORTO Race 2 Result
1. A Priaulx BMW 320si 13 laps in 32m02s175 (Ave: 114.74kph)
2. J Mller BMW 320si + 2s057
3. A Menu Chevrolet Lacetti + 4s394
4. T Coronel SEAT Leon + 4s798
5. Y Muller SEAT Leon + 6s188
11. R Huff Chevrolet Lacetti + 18s801
20. N Larini Chevrolet Lacetti + 1 lap (Accident)
Drivers'
Points Standings after Race 12 of 22
1. J Muller (BMW), 58pts; 2. A Farfus (BMW), 56; 3. A Priaulx
(BMW) 56; 4. Y Muller (SEAT) 39; 5. A Menu (Chevrolet),
38 ; 5. N Larini (Chevrolet) 38; 9. R Huff (Chevrolet) 22;
etc
Manufacturer's Points
Standings after Race 12 OF 22
1. BMW, 167pts; 2. SEAT, 124; 3. Chevrolet, 111; 4. Alfa
Romeo, 57.
The
next race of the 2007 World Touring Car Championship takes
place in Anderstorp, Sweden, on 29th July.
The full calendar for the year is:
2007
FIA World Touring Car Championship
11
March - Curitiba, Brazil - raced
6 May - Zandvoort, Netherlands - raced
20 May - Valencia, Spain
3 June - Pau, France
17
June - Brno, Czech Republic
8 July - Porto, Portugal
29 July - Anderstorp, Sweden
2 September - Oschersleben, Germany
23 September -Brands Hatch, Great Britain
7 October - Monza, Italy
18 November - Macau, China