Chevrolet has completed its final winter test ahead of the 2012 FIA World Touring Car Championship, while Chevrolet Motorsport Sweden were also present at the two day test at Valencia, with Rickard Rydell driving the Nika Racing Cruze which he will defend his Scandinavian Touring Car Championship title in.
Chevrolet had World Champion Yvan Muller and Vice Champion Rob Huff out on track while Alain Menu, who tested the Chevrolet Cruze a few weeks ago at Valencia, was also present and was working with his team-mates and engineers.
For Menu, it was important for him to be out at Valencia as he has a new engineer for the 2012 campaign: “Working with the team, Yvan and Rob is certainly very useful. This year, I’ll be working with a new engineer, Phil Barker, who already has a great deal of experience with touring cars as he was involved in RML’s BTCC program; so it was important for the two of us to be here.”
The conditions down in Spain are a complete contrast to the majority of Europe – ice and snow covering most of Europe while it is warm and dry in Spain, although windy and cooler than on average.
Muller is happy with the conditions and to be back behind the wheel of the Cruze: “It’s nice to be at the wheel of a race car again and I’m happy we have good track conditions. Today was mostly a day for the engineers as they wanted us to test and compare a number of things. I am anxious to get back to racing soon. ”
The two cars were running in 2012 configurations and the two day test has allowed the team to carry out the entire work programme planned.
Huff added: “I think that by tomorrow (Tuesday) evening, we will have covered considerable mileage, and this is exactly what drivers need and engineers want at this time of the year. Although there aren’t striking differences between this year’s and last year’s cars, the team has been working a lot during the winter and the Cruze feels very good to drive.”
Ron Hartvelt concluded by saying: “The start of the season is around the corner and it’s important to have this kind of final rehearsal. We wanted to try out minor changes, mainly concerning suspensions and the cooling system, before clearing the 2012 specs of the car. Everything is running smoothly and we are satisfied with the information gathered.”