WTCC 2007 - Round 10, Monza
Digital Image Recorder
10/12/2007
Nicola Larini took a spectacular victory at the season-ending Eurotouring exhibition racing tournament to complete a record breaking year for RML Chevrolet.
The Italian beat SEAT's Roberto Colciago in a head-to-head duel around the 936-metre circuit in the Shell Arena of Bologna, Italy, as part of the annual motorshow and racing festival.
On a completely soaked track, Nicola won the first heat against the SEAT driver, narrowly missing out on victory in the second, before the times were added together giving him the outright win. Fellow WTCC competitors James Thompson (Alfa Romeo) and Gabriele Tarquini (SEAT) finished third and fourth respectively.
RML Chevrolet enjoyed a hugely successful 2007, with Alain Menu taking five pole-positions and victories, and the team a total of seven wins overall.
Nicola said: "I am very happy to have conquered my first success at the wheel of the Lacetti, after having been many times so close to victory in the WTCC races. To do it here in Italy, in front of my fans, adds something special to this result. The race was difficult, because of the slippery conditions: I had some over-steer and it was not easy to stay on the track. In the finale, I made a little mistake in the second heat but thanks to a perfect last lap I could make the time lost and beat my opponent by 3 hundredths of a second."
Mark Busfield, RML Chevrolet Project Manager, said: "This is the perfect way for the RML Chevrolet team to end a season which has given us many moments of joy. I am happy that Nicola took his first victory with the Lacetti and I am happy that we reinforce our position of best performer in urban tracks: we won on all street circuits this year!"
Eric Nève, Motorsport Manager of Chevrolet Europe, said:"The Bologna Eurotouring is a very special event, a celebration of cars and motor racing, which attracts big crowds, and especially a lot of young, enthusiastic people. For Chevrolet, it is important to be in events like these and it is even better if you win! Nicola has done a great job and I congratulate him. Now is time to focus exclusively on 2008 and continuing development and testing work with the Lacetti. With the first race of the 2008 WTCC scheduled in Curitiba early March, the intra-season period is going to be particularly short, as cars and equipment will be shipped for the long journey to Brazil at the end of January. We will be ready and are looking forward to another exciting season!"
