NEWS ARCHIVE

Chevrolet WTCC drivers Rob Huff and Vincent Radermecker will take part this weekend in the 12 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps, counting towards the Belgian Touring Car Series (BTCS). Huff and Radermecker will join former Formula One driver and local hero Eric Van de Poele at the wheel of a Vovo S60 silhouette car.

The first three events of the season have seen a domination of SEAT drivers in the new Rookie Challenge. Making the most out of track layouts that favoured their TDI cars, Fredy Barth, Michel Nykjær and Norbert Michelisz have won all the six races held so far and built a comfortable margin ahead of Mehdi Bennani and his BMW. At the wheel of his León car backed by SEAT Switzerland, Barth has already claimed four race victories and leads the standings with 48 points.

The Proteam Motorsport duo of Sergio Hernández and Stefano D’Aste is leading the WTCC Independents’ Trophy after the first three events. They both were already crowned Independents’ champions: Hernández in 2008 for Proteam and D’Aste in 2007, when racing for Wiechers-Sport. The latest race meeting in Monza provided ups and downs for the two drivers. D’Aste struggled in qualifying, but then shone in both races. He claimed his first victory of the season in Race 2.

The first three events of the 2010 FIA WTCC proved that all three car Manufacturers represented in the championship are fighting on equal ground, in qualifying and in the races. BMW, Chevrolet and SEAT Customers Technology have equally shared pole positions (one each) and race wins (two each). The championship classifications reflect this balance. Muller leads the Drivers’ by 24 points, while Tarquini and Rob Huff are joint second. Priaulx lies fourth, only two points adrift.

Argentine driver Leonel Pernía managed to score his first WTCC point on his maiden appearance, despite everything – circuit, team, car and tyres – was totally new to him. After a cautious approach at the wheel of the fourth Chevrolet Cruze car, run by the Chevrolet Motorsport Sweden team, Pernía improved consistently throughout the Monza weekend.

Last weekend in Monza, bamboo-engineering drivers Harry Vaulkhard and Darryl O’Young had their best WTCC weekend so far. On the Italian circuit the Chevrolet Lacetti cars run by the British team proved that they can compete with the BMW cars for the Independents’ Trophy lead. On Saturday O’Young set pole position, claiming a brilliant 12th place overall and beating his team-mate by two tenths.

Sunday in Monza SUNRED’s Michel Nykjær was very close to become the second driver in WTCC history to win a race in a non-factory car. Something that only Tom Coronel managed to do when he claimed victory at Okayama in 2008. In the second race on the Italian track, the Danish driver was denied a resounding result when the front-left tyre of his SEAT León TDI car exploded at the Roggia chicane during the last lap.

Rounds 7 and 8 of the 2010 FIA World Touring Car Championship will take place at Zolder, Belgium, 19th and 20th June. The deadline to apply for media credentials is Tuesday, 8th June. Please be reminded that media passes issued by National Sporting Authorities and/or any other series (except the FIA Formula 2 permanent media passes) will NOT be valid.

Monza was benevolent with Chevrolet that made the most out of yesterday’s races on the Italian superfast racetrack. The blue-and-white cars collected one victory (with Yvan Muller in the second race), two third places (with Rob Huff) and a number of points that propelled the Frenchman into the lead of the Drivers’ Championship and the American brand to the top of the Manufacturers’. Both races were decided when a combination of speed and hot asphalt took its toll on the leading drivers.