29.3.2006
Chevrolet anxious to get to first race of 2006 WTCC season

The Chevrolet WTCC team is looking forward to start its second season in the World Touring Car Championship with the race in Monza, Italy, on Sunday, April 2. After a long winter of testing in different countries and a successful two days at the Monza track early last week, there is a certain “back-to-school” feeling in the team, with drivers, engineers and mechanics all anxious to meet friends and competitors old and new.

“We have been working flat out for four months to build, test and develop our 2006 race cars, so now we’re obviously keen to see the results in real competition,” said Chevrolet Team Manager Mark Busfield. “We were encouraged by our performance during the official FIA test days at Monza last week, even though the Italian track with its long straights isn’t one of our favorites. What we already know for sure is that the racing will even be closer than last year. In some sessions last week, we had as many as fifteen cars within one second of each other, so it’s clear to see that everybody has upped their game.

“Result-wise, we expect to build on our performance from 2005. We aim to finish in the points every time out, but, as we all know, that is easier said than done. Let's not forget that the standard of our competitors continues to be very high, with all the world's top touring car drivers in the WTCC, and that there will be 35 cars on the grid next Sunday.”

Chevrolet driver Rob Huff, who achieved one of the fastest times overall in one of last week’s sessions, said: “With the reverse grid system for the second race of the weekend, I think that realistically, we could go for podiums from the Brands Hatch, U.K. or Oschersleben, Germany race onwards. I am confident we can do well this season, especially after last week’s test, which was very promising.”

Monza WTCC schedule (CET)

The qualifying, warm-up and races will be broadcast live on Eurosport.