Photo: WTCC Media

Test car at Monza for Alain Menu

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Chevrolet have revealed that Alain Menu will use the Chevrolet Cruze test car at Monza, thanks to accident damage sustained in Morocco. Menu was involved in several incidents during the Marrakech weekend, crashing during testing on the Friday, before a clash with Augusto Farfus in race two sent the Swiss driver into the wall, sustaining heavy damage to the right hand side of his Cruze.

“The team had some hard work back at RML since Marrakech,” said Chief Engineer Ron Hartvelt, “As Alain’s car was seriously damaged in the various incidents, especially in race two.

“We are now building a completely new car, which will be ready soon, while Alain will race in Italy with the test car.”

Despite this setback, and the fact that the Cruze has never raced at the Autodromo Nazionale di Monza before, confidence is high at Chevrolet Racing for the beginning of the European WTCC season.

But Hartvelt believes Chervrolet’s competitors will be very strong on the Italian track, necessitating that, “A good strategy of towing and slipstreaming in qualifying will definitely be the crucial element for this event.”

Menu agrees, saying, “Much will depend on how well we can help each other with slip-streaming, especially in qualifying.

“Of course, we can expect the turbo-powered cars to be in front, and also the BMWs, as they will have less weight following the coming into force of the new compensation grid, but we will try our best to challenge all of them.”

For Rob Huff, while accepting it will be a difficult weekend, the return to Monza to the calendar after a year away represents the chance to rewind 112 WTCC races back to his bow in the series.

“Monza is always special to me, as it is where I made my debut at the highest level in touring car racing, so I’m sure it is a special memory for all who were present that day,” said Huff.

“While it is certainly nice to be back in Italy and on a F1 track, this will be one of the most difficult races of the season for us, but I hope we can qualify well and come away with some good points”.

Earlier this week Chevrolet confirmed that a fourth Cruze, borrowed from Chevrolet Team Sweden, would be present at Monza for the Argentinean TC2000 vice-champion Leonel Pernía.

The 34-year-old Argentine spoke further about his WTCC debut, saying:

“I am thrilled at the prospect of making my WTCC debut in Monza and I hope I can help the Chevrolet team to achieve its goals.

“I am also proud of being a sort of ambassador of the WTCC to Argentina, where the series is enjoying a growing success and I hope this will lead to always closer ties between both sides of the Atlantic”.

Intriguingly with all of Pernía’s talk of establishing closer ties between Europe and South America, he is one of the drivers named to TouringCarTimes by his current TC2000 boss Victor Rosso as being close to the potential Honda Racing Argentina 2011 WTCC entry. (see here).

“I am delighted we can have Leonel Pernía with us in Monza, as he is a big name in touring car racing in South America and I am sure that his presence will help the team and will be a further boost for the WTCC’s popularity in Argentina”, said Chevrolet Europe Motorsport Manager Eric Nève.

Nève also confirmed that the team may run a fourth Cruze at other WTCC rounds during the remainder of the season, opening up the intriguing possibility of other Chevrolet drivers joining Pernía in having a WTCC outing with the works team.