WTCC News
Menu, Larini, Huff Confident For 2008 WTCC Season
By
Jan 24, 2008, 16:29

The Chevrolet RML team successfully concluded a three-day test
at the Portuguese track of Estoril yesterday. Alain Menu, Nicola Larini and Rob Huff tested and
evaluated several new components for the 2008-spec Chevrolet Lacetti, which also sports a
revised livery for the coming World Touring Car Championship. Further tests, including those of the
2008 engine, will be conducted in the United Kingdom using the test car, while the race cars are
being shipped to South America for the first round of the WTCC in Curitiba, Brazil on March 2nd.


• QUOTES

Rob Huff: “Between our Valencia test and this one we have again gained a few steps forward.
Everybody understands a bit more about the set-up and is consistently working in the right
direction. Every day of testing we have had so far with the new 2008 car has been going very
well, and it’s good to be so ready so early.”

Alain Menu: “I tested just the final day, working on springs and brakes; the usual detail stuff
you try this time of winter. With the Lacetti being as good as it is, we are now looking at
improving our lap times by the hundredth of a second rather than by the tenth. This is not as
easy but certainly as rewarding. Sometimes you can test a whole day without finding a plus,
but you may have been able to eliminate a minus which is often just as helpful. As before a lot
will depend on the kind of track you race at, whether or not you can find that little bit extra. With
the quality and reliability of the Lacetti now well established, as witnessed by our seven wins
last year, we should be fighting for the lead from the word go.”

Nicola Larini: “These are new cars we’re testing here, albeit still with the ’07 engine. But they
have everything else of the ’08 package installed. These days we’ve been mainly busy
validating parts, particularly the suspension, differential and overall set-up. We’re racking up as
many laps as we can and we have had no reliability issues whatsoever, which makes me feel
quite confident for the season. As in the years before the guys at RML have done an
outstanding job over winter in preparing a superb race car which will hopefully allow me to win
my first WTCC race.”

Mark Way: “The last two seasons we have been competing with an engine waiver (12:1
compression ratio and increased valve lift) to help overcome differences between our road car
aerodynamics and the other manufacturers. This season the engine waiver will not be renewed
however we will get a 20kg reduction of our base weight instead. We have been working hard
in all areas of the 2008 car to make up this difference and are confident that with the weight
reduction and our winter developments we can continue the competitiveness seen last year
with the Chevrolet Lacetti.”

Mark Busfield: “We have completed a lot of track testing during December and January in
preparation for the 2008 campaign. This week’s test at Estoril is the second time we have used
this track since December, and it gave us the opportunity of a good test facility with a warm
winter climate, plus the added benefit that we will race here for the first time in the WTCC
during July. This week has been our final test with our drivers using their new race cars before
the hardware and equipment are shipped to Brazil on the February 1st. The first race will soon
be here and our preparations are going to plan to have everything ready for this date, further
testing will take place in February using the test car to ensure we start the season as strongly
as possible.”

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