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A Cruze In Each Of THe Three First Rows On The Grid In Monza

Excellent team result for the Chevies in qualifying - Pernia shows constant improvement

2010-05-23

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The three Chevrolet Cruze will be in excellent position tomorrow on the grid of the WTCC’s first race in Monza, after Huff, Menu and Muller managed to make it into the Top Five in today’s qualifying. Rob will start from the front row, thanks to the second-fastest time, while Alain will start from row 2 and Yvan from row 3.

Monza offered two exciting qualifying sessions, with a lot of action in Q1 and the three Cruzes making it easily to Q2, where towing strategy worked well for the Cruzes, which proved to be competitive in their first outing in Monza, despite the long straights of the Italian circuit which are not particularly suited for them.

Leonel Pernía, who is making his debut in the WTCC and at the wheel of the fourth Cruze managed to improve his lap times all along the day. He will start from the eighth row.

·         QUOTES  

Rob Huff (2nd): "I am very pleased with the result; I did not expect to be up front here in Monza.  I had almost a perfect lap, at the right moment, and could make that time. Today, it was very though out there but I am glad to have been able to use all the potential of the car. Tomorrow, it is going to be close but the good news is that I am ideally positioned to get strong results."

Alain Menu (4th): "There was a lot of traffic in Q2, with all the cars running together, and I have had only one clear lap, so I am quite satisfied with the outcome, although I am a little bit concerned about the brakes for tomorrow. The track seems to be very demanding in that respect; we are going to change the pads and do some work tonight in order to be ready for the races tomorrow. My hope is to score some heavy points, for the team and for myself”.

Yvan Muller (5th) : "I only had one opportunity to have a fast lap and I have been driving very cautiously not to take any risks, but it hasn’t really paid off. The set-up of the car I had chosen wasn’t ideal, but luckily I am still well placed on the grid. Tomorrow, it will be key to avoid contacts and tricks in the chicanes!”

Leonel Pernía (15th): "It was quite wild out there and I didn't want to disturb the official drivers, so I did not get much involved in the slip-streaming strategy, but I still had a tow from one of the Lacettis. I was P13 one minute from the end before Coronel and O'Young improved. But overall I am quite pleased, as I am discovering everything. I hope to be more competitive in race trim, improving my lap times every time out."

David Grace : "We are quite happy with the team result, as our three cars have been extremely consistent throughout all the sessions. We will see tomorrow how things can develop in race conditions: the hot weather is going to pose a problem to tires and brakes to all participants. Still, we are in a good position to get results with the three drivers, while Leonel is going to continue climbing the learning curve”. 

Eric Nève : "Before coming here, we would have signed off right away for a result like this, knowing that it is the first time in Monza for the Cruze and that fast tracks are not the most favourable to us. It is now up to our drivers to score heavy points tomorrow and we expect Leonel to continue his constant progression throughout the week-end’’.

MONZA QUALIFYING RESULTS

1. A  Farfus                 BMW 320si                            2m00s672

2. R Huff                     Chevrolet Cruze                    + 0s025

3. A Priaulx                 BMW 320 si                            +0s135

4. A Menu                   Chevrolet Cruze                    +0s227

5. Y Muller                  Chevrolet Cruze                    + 0s875

15. L Pernía                Chevrolet Cruze                    2m2s441 (Q1)