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The Cruzes Achieve Excellent Team Result In Treacherous Conditions In Okayama

One win for Huff, two podiums for Muller and six points finishes in total

2010-11-01

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The Chevrolet team made a very big step forward in the race towards the titles, after collecting one win and many heavy points in the penultimate round of the WTCC, in rain-soaked Okayama. In the Manufacturers’ standings, Chevrolet is now only 6 points away from the title, while Yvan Muller extended his lead in the Drivers’ standings.

Rob Huff won race 1 after starting from third position on the grid and managing to overtake the BMWs in the course of the race. Yvan Muller finished both races on the podium, collecting two very useful third positions. More points came from Rob and Alain in race 2, with the team actually achieving six points finishes over the week-end.

The 2010 WTCC will end in three weeks in Macau, with the traditional and prestigious Race of Macau, taking place in the streets of the former Portuguese enclave, a track that has brought well to Chevrolet in past years.

·      Quotes

Rob Huff (1st/4th) :  "We are absolutely delighted with the results today. The boys in blue did an extraordinary work. We wanted the rain, because we knew it was going to level all cars. It was not easy to guess the right set-up, as the rain only appeared today, but we started from last years’ data and that was the right move to do. In Race 1, after the start behind the safety-car, I was able to pass the BMWs and build a sufficient gap. In Race 2, we focused on protecting Yvan’s back.”

Yvan Muller (3rd/3rd) “One thing is sure: the weekend ended much better than it started! Today, we put together a very strong team effort and collected the fruits of the good work done. Starting from fourth row and ending the day with two podiums and more points than my direct rivals in the championship is very positive. But the job is not finished and we will have to be very cautious in Macau, which as everybody knows, is always a lottery”.

Alain Menu (9th/5th): “Conditions today were really very difficult, there was a lot of water everywhere and visibility was almost zero, but luckily everything went well for us and we are now in a good position to achieve our objectives”.

OKAYAMA RACE 1 RESULTS

1. R Huff                     Chevrolet Cruze                    16 laps in 31m46s668

2. A Priaulx                 BMW 320si                             + 2s977

3. Y Muller                  Chevrolet Cruze                    + 4s931

4. A Farfus                  BMW 320si                             + 8s596

5. N Michelisz             SEAT León TDI                      + 11s310

9. A Menu                   Chevrolet Cruze                    + 30s022

OKAYAMA RACE 2 RESULTS

1. A Farfus                  BMW 320si                             16 laps in 33m47s799

2. C Turkington           BMW 320si                             + 0s275

3. Y Muller                  Chevrolet Cruze                    +0s724

4. R Huff                     Chevrolet Cruze                    + 1s098

5. A Menu                   Chevrolet Cruze                    + 1s004

DRIVERS POINTS STANDINGS AFTER RACE 22 OF 24

1. Y Muller (Chevrolet), 295 points; 2. A Priaulx (BMW), 258 ; 3. G Tarquini (SEAT), 242; 4. R Huff (Chevrolet), 233 ; 5. A Farfus (BMW), 186; 6. A Menu (Chevrolet), 58; ... 19. L Pernía (Chevrolet), 1.

MANUFACTURERS POINTS STANDINGS AFTER RACE 22 OF 24

1. Chevrolet, 636 points; 2. BMW, 564; 3. SEAT, 560.