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Alain Menu and Yvan Muller celebrate first row
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Menu And Muller Secure An All-Cruze Front Row In Budapest
Menu on front row for Races 1 and 2, whilst a competitive field keeps Huff out of Q2
2011-06-04
The inaugural WTCC event in will have a completely blue front row on the grid of Race 1 tomorrow, as and were the two fastest men on the track. For Alain, this is a well deserved prize and the first pole since Brands Hatch 2009. The Swiss rounded an excellent day by taking second position on the grid for Race 2, meaning that he will be on the front row in both races.
Despite these good results, there were also some regrets in the Chevrolet camp, as championship leader Huff missed the Q2 threshold, due to a very competitive field in Q1. The Brit will have to start from position 12 in both of tomorrow’s races.
Extremely warm and heavy weather dominated today’s qualifying and it is anticipated this could have an impact tomorrow, especially on tyres, which are already put to the test on the twisty and abrasive Hungarian track.
· QUOTES
Alain Menu (1st): “I am delighted to be on pole position, it’s been a while since it happened! Today was a very good day for me: in Q1, I was aiming at the middle of the grid and eventually finished in P9, which means first row, I really thought that I had been faster and was bound to be in row 4 or 5, so that was a good surprise. In Q2, I achieved a very clean lap, I could have been a little bit faster but on this track it is crucial not to overdrive and have a very flowing drive instead. The RML Chevys, once again, proved they are very strong but tomorrow’s races will be tough on the front tyres and we don’t know what the weather will be like, so nothing can be taken for granted.”
(2nd): “A good qualifying session, all in all. In Q1, I tried to stay as close to P10 as possible but I must say I’m still struggling with this new qualifying system! In Q2, the car was good, I just did a small mistake and that cost me the pole. I did probably attack too much and this doesn’t pay off on this circuit. Still, we are in an excellent position for tomorrow’s races, which won’t be easy given the track’s characteristics and the fact that our rear wheel drive rivals are quite competitive as well.”
Huff (12th): “It wasn’t a good day, as we certainly had the performance level to be up front and we finished out of Q1. As always, we set an ideal time to be in P10 and targeted that time, but the margin of error we calculated was too tight. When we realised we were out of the top ten, the tyres were too old to push and improve the lap time. Tomorrow, the objective will be to climb up positions, without taking excessive risks, and bring home as many points as possible.”
Eric Nève: “Today our strategy wasn’t entirely successful. We aimed at being as close as possible to P10 in Q1 and it worked well for Alain, partially for Yvan and not at all for Rob. It’s the second time this season we have one car out of the top ten, I think we will have to take a less risky approach in the future. Still, the good news are that we conquered the pole for the fourth time in four events this year and that we have seen a big and enthusiastic crowd at the track today, it was almost like on a race day, which means that there is a real interest for touring cars in Hungary and everybody is feeling this should become a regular fixture in the calendar.”
QUALIFYING RESULTS (RACE 1 GRID)
1. A Menu Chevrolet Cruze 1m56s546
2. Y Muller Chevrolet Cruze + 0s111
3. J Villa BMW 32O TC + 0s164
4. T Coronel BMW 320 TC + 0s366
5. BMW 320 TC + 0s377
12. R Huff Chevrolet Cruze 1m57s854 (Q1)
RACE 2 GRID POSITIONS
1. M Bennani BMW 320 TC (1m57s706)
2. A Menu Chevrolet Cruze (1m57s620)
3. K Poulsen BMW 320 TC (1m57s599)
4. T Coronel BMW 320 TC (1m57s589)
5. T Monteiro SEAT León TDI (1m57s578)
8. Y Muller Chevrolet Cruze (1m57s371)
12. R Huff Chevrolet Cruze (1m57s854)
