FIA WTCC NEWSLETTER # 03 – 24 February 2006
CHEVROLET TESTED AT BRANDS HATCH
RML and Chevrolet had a successful first test with the new
2006 Chevrolet Lacetti car at Brands Hatch today. In freezing
temperatures and through showers of rain, sleet and snow,
the team managed to gather valuable data from drivers Alain
Menu, Nicola Larini and Robert Huff.
Despite the changing weather conditions, all drivers were
happy with their first runs in the car, which now features
left-hand drive and revised aerodynamics.
“It’s a pity the weather kept changing like it
did,” Menu said. “I managed to get in just three
or four laps in the dry, so we mainly concentrated on finalizing
the oil cooler position for the remainder of the day. The
feeling of the car in general is good and the left-hand drive
is definitely an improvement. “
RML Chief Executive, Ray Mallock, was pleased with the tests,
despite the weather: “We just had a minor teething problem
with the power steering system before lunch, but the engineers
sorted that out for the afternoon session. Apart from that
we had no major issues, so we could quickly start amassing
data. Unfortunately we were only using a portion of the track
(the short Indy Circuit) for this test, as the Grand Prix
track can only be used for race meetings due to restrictions
on the number of “noisy” days. But all in all
we can say that we’ve had a very productive day indeed.”
Chevrolet will test again in Albacete, Spain next week and
Magny Cours, France the following week.
THE RAIN SPOILED BMW TEST IN MONZA
All three BMW works teams tested in Monza for two days, on
Wednesday and Thursday. Reigning World Champion Andy Priaulx
drove his BMW Team UK car, Jörg and Dirk Müller
where at the wheel of the two BMW Team Germany machines, while
BMW Team Italy-Spain tested with Alessandro Zanardi and Marcel
Costa.
However, drivers and teams had to cope with bad weather.
Rain fell nearly continuously on both days, giving only a
one-hour break on Thursday morning.
“We did not have much chance. I’m afraid that
nothing really useful will come out of this test,” BMW
Team Italy-Spain’s principal Roberto Ravaglia commented.
ANDY PRIAULX SPEAKS ABOUT NEW CAR
Defending World Champion, Andy Priaulx and his team are already
hard at work, putting in the miles on cold, windswept circuits
around Europe, to again find the winning edge to defend their
title.
With the new BMW 320si E90 replacing the double Championship
winning 320i E46, new car knowledge and its development in
pre-season testing will be paramount to the competitiveness
of the car in 2006. Priaulx and his team have completed five
days testing to date at Zandvoort, Valencia and Monza.
“I am very excited about the new car,” said Andy.
“We have had excellent reliability ‘out of the
box’ and we are learning about the car every lap we
complete. It will take time to understand it as we did the
E46, but the benchmark has been raised by this car and I am
confident that we will again have a strong Championship package.”
ITALIAN SUPERTURISMO AT MONZA AND MAGNY-COURS
The Italian Superturismo Championship will race with the
FIA WTCC at Monza and Magny-Cours. Competitors of the Italian
series will be also eligible to score World Championship points
because they adopt the same Yokohama tyres used by their fellow
FIA WTCC competitors.
Between eight and ten cars are expected to enter in the two
events, including the ROAL Motorsport BMW 320si of reigning
champion Alessandro Zanardi who, like last year, will add
the Italian campaign to his FIA WTCC commitment.
The Manufacturers represented in the Italian Superturismo
will be Alfa Romeo, BMW and SEAT.
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