September 23, 2007Print this page
Alain Menu scored Chevrolet’s sixth win of the 2007 World Touring Car Championship at Brands Hatch, thus becoming the most successful driver in this year’s championship. Menu led from lights to finish, controlling the rest of the field which was never more than half a second behind. In the second race, however, Menu was disqualified for a safety car procedure infringement. Rob Huff had a solid race in front of his home crowd to sixth in race one, which gave him an ideal starting position to finish on the podium of race two. Nicola Larini was unfortunately again the innocent victim of someone else’s bad luck in both races and scored no points, despite a strong fight from the back in race two.
Alain Menu: “What a season! It’s fantastic, fourth pole, fourth win, I’m really happy for myself and the team who have put in all the hard work. It’s also great to score Chevrolet’s first repeat win. The race was a tough one, but I knew that if I could lead the first lap there was a good chance I could keep James (Thompson) behind me for the rest of the race. James had the faster car today, but it’s one thing having the faster car and quite another being able to overtake the guy in front of you. I pushed for the whole race, but only as much as I had to. There was no need to try to go faster because I’d ruin the front tyres.”
“In the second race I unfortunately didn’t score points since I was disqualified. At the restart after the first-lap incident, Augusto (Farfus) seemed to be unaware the safety car had pulled in and was still going slow while I was already accelerating for the green. Only when I was alongside him did he realize the race was back on again, but by then contact was unavoidable. The stewards then disqualified me for pulling up alongside a competitor before the start line under safety car procedure, which is forbidden by the rules. Now my position in the championship standings allows me to have a mathematical shot at the title again, but realistically I think a top three finish at the end of the year is what we can go for.”
Rob Huff: “Race one was good solid performance, picking up some good points with a car now heavier than I’ve ever had before. I went as smooth as I could through the corners, as a lot of them are long but tightening at the end, so in a front-wheel-drive car you can ruin your tyres if you steer in to hard. So while I lost some time by being smooth I managed to make up for that by still having good tyres at the end of the race, which is how I managed to pass the SEAT. I tried to drop behind the BMW’s for the second race, but second row is actually better than being on the first row. The first row is on the uphill bit of the front straight, but the second row is downhill so the guys in front will struggle to get away.”
“In the second race I had a very clean start and immediately managed to tuck in behind Andy (Priaulx) and Felix (Porteiro). I had the speed to stay with them, but not enough to try and make a move. Still, I’m very happy with third!”
Nicola Larini: “It was just another one of those weekends. In race one, a BMW spun in front of me in the first corner and there was no room to avoid him so I got beached in the sand trap. Starting from the back in the second race obviously gave me no chance to score points, especially since I got involved again in someone else’s accident, again on the first lap. The good thing is that for me it can only get better at Monza in two weeks’ time.”
Eric Nève: “It’s a new feeling to win the same race again for the first time; being given a second ‘winning manufacturer’s’ cup with the same race track name on it. Today’s win and podium finish are almost the logical continuation of the superb season we’ve been having so far. It’s also very good for Chevrolet to be successful in a competitive environment like the WTCC, which on top is gaining in popularity as could be witnessed by the increasing number of spectators today. Alain’s and Rob’s races were textbook, but unfortunately Nicola was again the victim of others’ mistakes.”
gmeurope
QUOTES
Alain Menu: “What a season! It’s fantastic, fourth pole, fourth win, I’m really happy for myself and the team who have put in all the hard work. It’s also great to score Chevrolet’s first repeat win. The race was a tough one, but I knew that if I could lead the first lap there was a good chance I could keep James (Thompson) behind me for the rest of the race. James had the faster car today, but it’s one thing having the faster car and quite another being able to overtake the guy in front of you. I pushed for the whole race, but only as much as I had to. There was no need to try to go faster because I’d ruin the front tyres.”
“In the second race I unfortunately didn’t score points since I was disqualified. At the restart after the first-lap incident, Augusto (Farfus) seemed to be unaware the safety car had pulled in and was still going slow while I was already accelerating for the green. Only when I was alongside him did he realize the race was back on again, but by then contact was unavoidable. The stewards then disqualified me for pulling up alongside a competitor before the start line under safety car procedure, which is forbidden by the rules. Now my position in the championship standings allows me to have a mathematical shot at the title again, but realistically I think a top three finish at the end of the year is what we can go for.”
Rob Huff: “Race one was good solid performance, picking up some good points with a car now heavier than I’ve ever had before. I went as smooth as I could through the corners, as a lot of them are long but tightening at the end, so in a front-wheel-drive car you can ruin your tyres if you steer in to hard. So while I lost some time by being smooth I managed to make up for that by still having good tyres at the end of the race, which is how I managed to pass the SEAT. I tried to drop behind the BMW’s for the second race, but second row is actually better than being on the first row. The first row is on the uphill bit of the front straight, but the second row is downhill so the guys in front will struggle to get away.”
“In the second race I had a very clean start and immediately managed to tuck in behind Andy (Priaulx) and Felix (Porteiro). I had the speed to stay with them, but not enough to try and make a move. Still, I’m very happy with third!”
Nicola Larini: “It was just another one of those weekends. In race one, a BMW spun in front of me in the first corner and there was no room to avoid him so I got beached in the sand trap. Starting from the back in the second race obviously gave me no chance to score points, especially since I got involved again in someone else’s accident, again on the first lap. The good thing is that for me it can only get better at Monza in two weeks’ time.”
Eric Nève: “It’s a new feeling to win the same race again for the first time; being given a second ‘winning manufacturer’s’ cup with the same race track name on it. Today’s win and podium finish are almost the logical continuation of the superb season we’ve been having so far. It’s also very good for Chevrolet to be successful in a competitive environment like the WTCC, which on top is gaining in popularity as could be witnessed by the increasing number of spectators today. Alain’s and Rob’s races were textbook, but unfortunately Nicola was again the victim of others’ mistakes.”
gmeurope
I would like see the car, somebody have yet a Insigia??? I want more information about car safety and other simila [...]