Chevrolet completes shakedown

The very first Chevrolet Lacetti for the FIA World Touring Car Championship has been shaken down at the MIRA Proving Grounds in Nuneaton, Great Britain, yesterday. British driver, Rob Huff, put the first miles on the clock for what is Chevrolet’s first ever factory racing effort in Europe.

The shake down went very well and without any major problems, other than the usual and very normal teething problems that come with every brand new racing project. “The test has gone very well, it’s always a good sign when a car works straight out of the box,” said RML Chief Executive, Ray Mallock. “We have completed a fair amount of running today and have encountered no problems. Rob has been able to run at a good speed and push the car quite hard. The reports have been favourable on the engine and brakes and generally the whole package.”

Rob Huff commented: “It’s been a very positive start for us today; the car feels good and is nicely balanced. We carried out various system checks and everything is running well. The cold weather has meant it took some time to get some temperature in the tyres but despite that we have been picking up the pace gradually and are all very happy with the way things have worked.”

On return from MIRA the car will receive a complete mechanical check before undergoing various workshop tests including torsion, camber & toe stiffness to validate the computer calculations. This process will take approximately ten days. This will be followed by testing various set-up options including spring, anti-roll bar and damper rates as well as simpler checks such as confirming fuel tank capacity. These workshop tests will then be followed by four post rig damper testing in preparation for the second track test on 21 January.