Positive test for Lada Sport in Portugal

Lada Sport performed a three-day test in which all drivers for the Russian team drove an upgraded version of the Vesta WTCC at the Algarve circuit in Portugal.

The first behind the wheel was former Honda driver Gabriele Tarquini.

“We were lucky with the weather”, said the Italian. “It was completely dry, though the only problem was the strong wind. I did fifty laps without any mechanical problems. We tested different configuration and geometry on the front and rear suspension.”

The test also marked the former Honda driver’s first taste of the Vesta in dry conditions: “For me it was a great opportunity to discover the car as I only drove the Vesta in wet conditions with very low temperatures. In parallel we continued to improve the engine performance and torque delivery. I’m happy to see that the car is sensitive to the changes we made. I also followed the test with Nick and Hugo because I wanted to share with them the feelings of the car and the development plan for the first race”.

Nick Catsburg also drove in the test, and is happy with the improved performance of the Vesta, as well as the opportunity to try some starts, which were a weakness last season for the Russian cars: “I was very happy to be back at the wheel of the Lada Vesta. The team have worked effectively on the updates, the car feels really good. We put a lot of focus and made big progress in terms of standing starts, which was our weak point last year and often made the races more difficult for us as we could not capitalise on the car’s qualifying speed.”

The Dutchman praised the engine upgrades, which have improved both power and traction: “The new engine management system has been seriously upgraded, and this year we will be more effective at the start of the race for sure. Also the traction is much better now and the general power delivery has been improved. In general, thanks to the major changes in the engine and suspension, the Vesta looks really promising ahead of the WTCC 2016 season. It is also nice to see Gabriele’s experience already having an influence in a very positive way.”

Hugo Valente also had his first taste of the Vesta, and found it important just to get behind the wheel to acclimatise before the curtain raiser at Paul Ricard: “I’m happy with how the testing went so far. I had limited dry running in the car so far so it was very important for me to do some dry testing and do a lot of laps. It was very useful in terms of both getting the knowledge of the car and regaining the confidence of driving the race car again as since the final WTCC race in Qatar last year I had not got my hands on a proper steering wheel.”

With no experience on the previous version of the Vesta, Valente is reliant on Tarquini and Catsburg’s feedback.

“The updates brought by Lada Sport and ORECA seem to be working nicely. I had no experience of the 2015 car so it’s hard for me to compare, but the feedback from Gabriele and Nicky is positive on both engine and suspension so hopefully that Vesta will show a better pace and improvement in terms of reliability and consistency on the long runs. I am very much looking forward to beginning of the season, it will be the first time we will be racing with the other cars so we will get a better idea of where we are in terms of performance”.

One more testing session is set to be performed mid-way through this month at Magny-Cours, before the WTCC season kicks off at the Paul Ricard Circuit in France on 1st April.