Brno: Chevrolet Sunday report

The Cruzes Extend Lead In The Championship After Huff's Win In Brno

The Brit dominates Race 1, Menu twice on podium, while unluckier Muller keeps the lead in the Drivers' standings

BRNO, 1st July 2010 - The Chevrolet team experienced another successful day in Brno, as Rob Huff won with authority Race 1 on the Czech circuit, after taking the pole yesterday. This is the fourth win this season for the RML-prepared Cruze and the first for the British driver. Alain Menu visited the podium twice, as he finished a strong third in both races, confirming his current good form. These three podium finishes, together with the fourth place gathered by Huff in Race 2, allow Chevrolet to capitalize more heavy points and to extend their lead in the Manufacturers' championship.

Yvan Muller had an unluckier day, influenced by a race incident in Race 1 in which he was an innocent victim. Despite scoring no points today, the Frenchman retains the leadership in the Drivers' standings ahead of the final stint of the WTCC season, which will start in Germany on 4-5 September after the short summer break.

Another Chevrolet driver deserved special praise today: Darryl O'Young, driving the privateer Lacetti of Bamboo Engineering, won both races in the Independents' Trophy. With three wins in total this year, the Hong Kong driver is now second in the standings of the WTCC's junior competition.

Quotes

Rob Huff (1st / 4th): "It has been another great week-end for the team, and for me, personally, just what I needed! In Race 1, I managed to stay alongside Tarquini at the start and kept the advantage at first corner, which was crucial. We had prepared the car set-up thinking about the second half of the race, and it did work well. It was hard to defend P1 in the first 3-4 laps, but then it was a little bit easier. After the safety-car period, I could hold the 1-second advantage I had and tried to finish smoothly, preserving the tyres. In Race 2, I had a little problem with the clutch at the start, lost one position, but then managed to climb up through the field following Alain. I had a nice fight with Farfus in the last lap, he passed me at the end of the straight but I was able to re-pass him immediately afterwards, I am really proud of that move! I took fourth and some more good points, which are useful for both the team and myself in the championship".

Alain Menu (3rd / 3rd): "I am very happy with today's result: twice on the podium is quite nice, after some unlucky days in past events. The car was really strong here in Brno, I think we did a great job in finding the right balance, and both my races were quite clean and with a consistent pace. Now I hope that this trend will continue for the rest of the season".

Yvan Muller (NCt/12th): "The good news is that we are keeping our leading position in both championships and even increasing the gap in the Manufacturers' standings. For me personally, it has not been a good week-end, there is always one week-end like this in a season and I hope this was the one! In Race 1, I just couldn't avoid being carried away by Turkington and Michelisz when they collided, and that broke one of the front suspensions. In Race 2, starting from the very back of the grid, I could climb a number of positions but not enough to be in the points. But, luckily, all this hasn't damaged our championship chances".

Eric Nève: "Today we collected another great team result, which is the fruit of everybody's efforts and motivation. Rob has been outstanding and it is nice to see Alain back on the forefront. Now we will use the 5 weeks without races to continue working on the development of the Cruze and we will also have some testing, including three days at Magny-Cours, in order to be ripe for the final four events of the season".

-source: chevrolet