Chevrolet secured their fourth 1, 2, 3 finish of the 2012 World Touring Car Championship during the opening race of the weekend at the Salzburgring and they were on course to replicate the result in the second race before all three drivers’ suffered punctures.
Rob Huff was able to convert his first Pole Position of the 2012 campaign into his second win of the season during round eleven and he secured second overall in round twelve having started back in tenth position.
Huff could have had a double win had he not suffered a puncture on the final corner of the final lap, but he was unable to defend from the BMW 320TC of Stefano D’Aste – Huff had managed to defend his position from Tom Coronel on the run to the flag.
Huff’s Salzburgring results have seen him climb back to second in the Drivers’ Championship and the nearest challenger to team-mate Yvan Muller.
“I’m obviously very happy with how things went today for me – that’s the kind of day I needed and was waiting for,” explained Huff. “I was lucky in Race 2, unlike Yvan. But that’s how championships go and you have to take things as they come.
“Race 1 was relatively quiet. I spent most of the time focusing on what was happening behind me and had to defend my position from Yvan. It was definitely nice to win my second race of the year.
“In Race 2, I had an excellent start and we quickly gained positions,” concluded the British driver. “We were alerted by radio about Alain’s puncture, so we were extremely cautious after that. Despite our efforts, Yvan and I also ended up with punctures in the front left tires. Luckily, it happened to me in the last corner, in a turn where consequences were minimal. I was able to save second position. Salzburgring is a terrific circuit and I definitely look forward to come back here next year.”
Reigning Champion Muller was able to salvage some points in the second race after his front left puncture with three corners left. Having finished second behind Huff in the opening race, he was set to lead his team-mate home in the second race before his tyre went and he ended up recovering from the gravel trap.
Muller had worked his way up the order and led the second race by mid distance and he slowed the pace down once the third RML Chevrolet was in the gravel but to no avail.
Muller has seen his Championship advantage slashed to eight points, having arrived in Austria 23 points clear of Alain Menu and 30 clear of Huff.
“Race 2 was definitely 200 meters too long,” added Muller. “Otherwise, it would have been a very good weekend. Coming 2nd in Race 1 was a good result; then everything looked perfect in Race 2. After Alain had the problem with his tire, Rob and I reduced the pace, but in the final laps we had to push again as the BMWs were getting close.
“We had the same set-up in Race 2 as in Race 1, so I don’t know why we had the punctures,” continued the Frenchman. “I suspect it is due to the higher temperature of the surface. Also, in Race 1, there were a couple of safety car periods and this may have helped keep the tires cooler. That’s racing. The good thing is that I scored some points in Race 2 despite everything and I am still leading the championship.”
Menu arrived in Austria as the nearest challenger to Muller but has slipped 31 points behind his team-mate after being the first Chevrolet to suffer the tyre issues in the second race.
Menu had started his weekend off with a podium finish – following home Huff and Muller and he had managed to fight his way up the order to join his fellow Chevrolet’s at the front of the grid.
The Swiss driver then saw his race finish in the barrier at turn nine after his front left tyre went pop. Menu walked away from the incident injury free while the #8 Cruze was then collected by the bamboo engineering car of Alex MacDowall, who suffered a similar fate.
“Races are races. I am happy with my driving in Race 1,” said Menu. “I had a good pace but I did not want to attack my teammates because I was trying to preserve the tires and waiting for events to unfold.
“In Race 2, I had a bad start and had to fight to claim 3rd position. Then, there was the puncture which came all of a sudden, relatively early in the race. I really don’t know if anything happened – maybe I went over some debris.
“What I can say is that the Fahrerlager Kurve is certainly the worst place for something like this to happen,” concluded the Swiss driver. “You take that part of the track at full speed in 6th gear and it’s not a nice feeling when you have absolutely no control of a car that is heading towards a guard rail. Luckily, the gravel slowed me down and that made the shunt somehow softer.”