Lada drivers happy with improved pace at Moscow

Though they missed out on getting into the second part of qualifying, the LADA Sport Lukoil drivers were happy with the improved pace seen in qualifying at the Moscow Raceway, with all three cars now within two seconds of the class leading Citroëns.

Kozlovskiy qualified in 15th position for his home race, sandwiched between his team-mates Rob Huff and James Thompson, and rues the lost opportunity for a final run in the qualifying session.

“I am pleased to be on pace with Rob (Huff) and James (Thompson), of course, but I was denied the chance to push for Q2 by a late call into the scrutineering bay while preparing for a final run,” he said. “The Lada Sport LUKOIL Granta has been closer here than anywhere this season and we were only three tenths of a second off the Q2 pace, so it’s a shame not to get into Q2.”

Rob Huff qualified as the best placed Lada in 14th, but remnants of an earlier gearbox issue hampered any further improvements in qualifying.

“I feel sure that I had the pace to put the Lada Sport LUKOIL Granta into the top ten today,” said Huff. “Unfortunately we could not demonstrate this, as some oil residue from the gearbox issues earlier in the day was on my rear tyres, making grip a little hard to come by.”

Thompson, who was the quickest of the Lada drivers in both practice sessions, had a late slide on his final run in qualifying, and wound up 16th for the Russian marque’s home race.

“My car has worked well all weekend, so we have been able to close the gap to our competitors through consistency more than at previous rounds,” said Thompson. “I look forward to this continuing into tomorrow’s races and achieving a good result for Lada and LUKOIL at their home race. Last year I brought the old Granta home to a team-best fifth place from a lowly grid spot, so anything can happen.”