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The Cruzes Determined To Shine In One of the Homes of Touring Car Racing
Germany and Oschersleben welcome both the elite and the grassroot of the sports
2011-07-21
ZURICH / WELLINGBOROUGH, 22nd July 2011 – No time for summer holidays for the WTCC and the Chevrolet RML team! While the vast majority of Europeans start enjoying their summer holidays the WTCC heads to Germany, one of the bastions of touring car racing, for the traditional rendezvous at the Motorsport Arena Oschersleben, located near Magdeburg.
Oschersleben has always been particularly challenging for teams and drivers, as the technical and mixed profile of the track combining slow and fast corners, chicanes and straights, has often turned to be a real puzzle in terms of finding the right set up and balance for the cars.
With this German round, WTCC’s European tour is approaching an end. After Oschersleben, there will only be one last event in Europe, Valencia, before the long journey to Asia. While Chevrolet enjoys a comfortable lead in the Manufacturers’ Championship, things remain completely open in the Drivers’ standings, with the three Cruze drivers on top of the rankings.
German fans in Oschersleben will also enjoy the ADAC Cruze Cup, the grassroot trophy organized in Germany by ADAC, the largest automobile club, whose objective is to offer access to motorsports to the vastest majority.
- QUOTES
Rob Huff: “Oschersleben is one my favorite circuits, I really enjoy driving there, so I look forward to being in Germany. I always got a good pace there and I think the Cruze will be particularly quick this year. A lot of drivers say they struggle to find a good balance for the car in Oschersleben, but together with my engineer, Duncan Laycock, we have been quite successful in finding the right compromise in the past, and I hope it will work this time too. A nice result in Germany would be great to put our title bid on the right track again!”
Yvan Muller: “I had mixed results in Oschersleben in the past, it is not one of top circuits in my personal list, but I am determined to do well. The track is very technical, for sure, one which is quite stressful for the tyres, especially when the weather is warm, and one which is quite favorable to rear wheel drive cars. Things are going better for me in the championship and I am committed to continue this progression trend.”
Alain Menu: “Oschersleben will be a crucial moment in the season for me, I really need to make very good results if I want to stay in contention for the title. So, my objective will be simple: the pole for Race 1 and the best possible position on the grid for Race 2. Then, I think I would be in a position to repeat last year’s win.”
Stuart Cowie: “Oschersleben will be the last stop in the very tight succession of five events in two months. With such short turnarounds, there won’t be any major changes to the cars for Germany. Luckily, there was not too much work to do on the Cruzes after Donington and only Alain’s car had to pay a visit to the paint shop. We will be shaking down at MIRA on Monday and staying there on Tuesday, with the test car, as Yvan will conduct some testing aimed at validating some new brake components, destined for next year, and at checking a simulation package. Oschersleben is not an easy circuit, in terms of set ups, as it has a multitude of different types of corner, but we hope to be competitive there as well and Alain won Race 1 last year, so we should be ok.”
Eric Nève: “We are always happy to go to Germany, which is probably ‘the’ country of touring car racing in Europe. Almost as a celebration of that, the Oschersleben WTCC event this year hosts, among the supporting races, a round of the ADAC Cruze Cup, which is a mono-brand trophy featuring a Cruze 1.8 very close to the street car and therefore ideal for amateur and young drivers eager to enjoy racing at a very reasonable price. Oschersleben will therefore see sharing the track Cruzes that stand at the two ends of motor racing, the hi-tech, professional motorsports and grassroot racing. Passion is of course the common denominator and the two communities will join guests and dealers on Saturday evening for a barbecue and beer party!”
OSCHERSLEBEN RACE SCHEDULE (Local time = CET -1)
Saturday, 30th July 2011
08:30-09:00 Free Practice 1
12:15-12:45 Free Practice 2
14:00-14:20 Qualifying 1
14:25-15:35 Qualifying 2
Sunday, 31st July 2011
08:30-08:45 Warm up
12:20-12:45 Race 1 (14 laps = 51,744 kms) (Rolling start)
14:20-14:45 Race 2 (14 laps = 51,744 kms) (Standing start)
OSCHERSLEBEN WTCC ON TV
In Europe, qualifying, warm up and the races are be broadcasted live on Eurosport International.
DRIVERS POINTS STANDINGS AFTER RACE 14 OF 24:
1. R Huff (Chevrolet), 263 points; 2. Y Muller (Chevrolet), 248; 3. A Menu (Chevrolet), 192; 4. T Coronel (BMW), 124 ; 5. G Tarquini (SEAT), 115 ; ... 11. D O’Young (Chevrolet), 43; 14. C Bueno (Chevrolet), 25; etc.
MANUFACTURERS POINTS STANDINGS AFTER RACE 14 OF 24:
1. Chevrolet, 577 points; 2. BMW, 328; 3. SEAT SR, 313; 4. Volvo, 92.
CHEVROLET RACING AROUND THE GLOBE
In the US, Ryan Newman and Tony Stewart took a 1-2 win in Loudon. In the overall standings of the NASCAR Sprint Cup, Jimmie Johnson is currently 2nd, Kevin Harvick 4th and Jeff Gordon 7th. More information can be found on www.nascar.com.
In the UK, Jason Plato and Alex McDowall are currently 6th and 9th respectively, at the wheel of their RML prepared Cruzes in the provisional standings of the BTCC, whose next race will take place at Snetterton in early August. More info can be found on www.btcc.net.
In Argentina, the Equipo Oficial Chevrolet conquered another podium with the new Cruze, as Christian Ledesma finished 2nd in Termas de Río Hondo. Ledesma is now 9th in the overall standings of the TC2000 and Agustín Canapino 12th, ahead of next round in La Plata on 21st August. More info on www.tc2000.com.ar
In Scandinavia, Chevrolet Motorsport Sweden’s Rickard Rydell lies second in the standings of the Scandinavian Touring Car Championship, two points only from the lead. The next round will take place in Karlskoga on 12 August. More info can be found on www.stcc.se.
