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The Cruze, The Team And The Drivers Anxious To Shine At Home
The Chevrolet Boys to defend WTCC leadership at Brands Hatch – Brazilian ace Carlos Bueno to drive fourth Cruze
2010-07-09
ZURICH – WELLINGBOROUGH, 9th July 2010 – One of the most traditional events in the WTCC is knocking at the door: Brands Hatch, the Kent track which is one of the true cathedrals of motorsports. The UK round of the WTCC is synonymous with home race not only for the RML team, but also for all the three Chevrolet drivers. While this may be a quite obvious consideration for Rob Huff, it is less so for Alain Menu and Yvan Muller, but having spent many years in the UK and not having a real home race in the calendar this year, the two boys from the continent have definitely elected Brands Hatch as the race dearest to their hearts.
Needless to say, the Chevrolet team is facing the short journey fully motivated to repeat some of the great results obtained in Brands in the recent past and determined to maintain and even strengthen the leadership in both the Drivers’ and Manufacturers’ provisional standings.
A further reason for Chevrolet fans to rejoice will be the presence of a fourth Cruze, entered for Brazilian Stock-Car three-time champion Carlos ‘Cacá’ Bueno, who is committed to contribute to the team’s success and make the best use of this one-off opportunity.
- QUOTES
Yvan Muller: “Brands Hatch will really be a special moment in the season. It is the team’s home race, of course, and as there is no round in France this year, I also consider it my home race. I have lived and raced many years in the UK, I consider it my second home, and Brands is a circuit for which I have great affection. So, I am definitely very anxious to be there and I think we should be competitive, although I will stick to my determination of refraining from doing any more predictions! The objective remains always the same: to score heavy points for the championship, as I did in Portimão, with the two second positions, although I must admit I much prefer winning races...”
Rob Huff: “Brands Hatch will be the most exciting event of the year, as it is the home race for the entire team, for me and also for Alain and Yvan. I will be racing in front of many friends, family and fans, and that is tremendously motivating. Brands is also a track where we have had massive success since 2006 and we will try to continue along that path. Two years ago, I suffered a puncture when I was leading and since that, I have had a 2nd and a 3rd, so I really would like to score a win this time. But the objective remains to take as many points as possible and to stay up-front in the championship, so we will be pushing very hard, regardless of wet or dry weather”.
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Alain Menu: “Needless to say, I have very fond memories of Brands Hatch, having won there every year since 2006. To add a fifth one to this string of wins is going to be very difficult, you need some luck to keep such a successful trend, but I’ll try my best and I am certainly going for some good results. After having lived for 18 years in the UK, I feel completely at home there and Brands is a very special place to me. The weather, as always, may play a significant role, but I don’t mind the rain... provided I can start from the pole position!”
Carlos Bueno: “I am absolutely delighted to make my debut in the WTCC, which is the best touring car series in the world and has the best cars and drivers. I know it won’t be easy, as I will be discovering both the Cruze and the track, but I will do my personal best not to disappoint the team. It is a great opportunity that Chevrolet is offering to me and I know that my performance will be followed closely in Brazil, where this is seen as an opportunity to demonstrate what Brazilian drivers are capable of. Our stock-car championship uses more powerful, V8 cars, but I also have a long experience with touring cars closer to the WTCC ones and I am determined to take up the challenge”.
Ron Hartvelt: “We did well in Portimão and we have every intention to do at least as well in Brands Hatch, a track that has been good to us in the past and where we should be competitive this year too. Of course, it is RML’s home event, so expectations are high and we will have a lot of support from fans, friends and the entire factory staff. The focus for the team, with four events taking place in eight weeks, has been to get everything ready in a very short time, so there will be only very minor up-dates to the car, and once again, we will be paying particular attention to the tires, as Brands Hatch is quite a rubber-consuming track, especially if the weather is good and warm as it has been recently in the UK. This time, with the race taking place close to the team’s base, we will be able to shake-down very late, on the Wednesday before the race week-end. It will be a particularly useful moment especially for Cacá Bueno, our Brazilian guest driver, who will be driving one of the cars normally used in the BTCC”.
Eric Nève: “For any motorsport fan, to go to an event on a track such as Brands Hatch, so rich in tradition and history, which generally attracts a huge crowd of real connoisseurs, is always a special treat. We expect a lot of guests, Chevrolet fans and friends of the team and of our drivers: this may add some pressure but will also give us extra motivation and we hope to repeat the good results of previous years. Nick Reilly will be with us and it is always a pleasure to count him among one of our strongest supporters. In addition, we will have a fourth car for Cacá Bueno. He is really a star in Brazil and I am sure his presence will be a big boost for the WTCC’s visibility in South America and for Chevrolet’s image in a key market such as Brazil”.
BRANDS HATCH SCHEDULE (Local time = CET - 1)
Saturday, 17th July 2010
09:00-09:30 (10:00-10:30) Free Practice 1
13:00-13:30 (14:00-14:30) Free Practice 2
15:00-15:20 (16:00-16:20) Qualifying 1 (20’)
15:25-15:35 (16:25-16:35) Qualifying 2 (10’)
Sunday, 18th July 2010
10:00-10:15 (11:00-11:15) Warm up
12:05-12:30 (13:05-13:30) Race 1 (14 laps = 51.842 kms) (Rolling start)
14:20-14:45 (15:20-15:45) Race 2 (14 laps = 51.842 kms) (Standing start)
BRANDS HATCH WTCC ON TV
In Europe, qualifying, warm up and the races are be broadcasted live on Eurosport International.
CHEVROLET RACING AROUND THE GLOBE
In the US, Jimmie Johnson and Tony Stewart took a one-two win in London, while Kevin Harvick won, with Jeff Gordon finishing 3rd, an incident-packed Sprint Cup in Daytona. Following these results, it is again a trio of Chevy boys, composed of Harvick, Gordon and Johnson, trusting the first three positions in the overall standings. More info can be found on www.nascar.com.
In the UK, Jason Plato took two third positions in the last BTCC event in Croft. He still holds the second position in the overall standings ahead of the long summer break, with the other Chevrolet Cruze driver, Alex McDowall, in 13th position. More information can be found on www.btcc.net.
In Argentina, Chevrolet Elation driver Guillermo Ortelli clinched a brilliant second place in the round of Resistencia of the TC2000. Ahead of next week’s round in Termas de Río Hondo, Ortelli is 9th and Cristian Ledesma 13th in the TC2000 standings. More information can be found on www.tc2000.com.ar.
In Scandinavia, Jan Magnussen Magnussen is 6th in the Scandinavian series, with Chevrolet Sweden driver Viktor Hallrup lying in 13th position. In the STCC, Hallrup is 11th. More info on the Scandinavian series can be obtained on www.stcc.se and www.dtc-net.dk.
