RML Motorsport

08/07/2007

RML Chevrolet rule the streets with 1-2-3 finish in Portugal
Third 2007 Win For Menu, Huff Second, Larini Third; Menu Again On Podium In Race 2
PORTO (RACES 11 & 12), 8 July 2007 Chevrolet continued its dominance in the streets of Porto by scoring a historic triple victory in the first of todays races. Alain Menu, Rob Huff and Nicola Larini finished the incident-packed race in the order they had started in, letting none of their competitors even have a look at the podium. It was the first time since the beginning of Chevrolet WTCC programme in 2005 that three Lacettis locked out the podium. For Alain Menu, it was his third 2007 win, the first driver to achieve this level of success this year. Rob Huff scored his first podium finish of the year and set fastest race lap in race 1, but a misjudgment and dirty tyres from driving off line left him without points in race 2. Menu again finished on the podium in race 2, after Larini crashed under braking while in third. Menu now ties with Larini for fifth in the championship, but takes the position courtesy of his three victories.

QUOTES:
Alain Menu (1st/3rd): "Today has been a great day for Chevrolet and the RML team and I'm very happy for them. If you look back at where we were when we started in 2005, and here we are now, in first, second and third... In the second race the track was very dirty. I tucked in behind Nic at the start and stayed with him as we moved up the order. I gave him enough room to pass Tom (Coronel) and managed to pass the SEAT as well, exiting the same corner. The next thing I saw was that Nic was in the wall and thus handed me third place, which I obviously didn't say no to. Being fifth in the championship, as I will be carrying quite a bit of weight myself at the next race. Were still only at the halfway mark and lot can and will still happen. But in any case, today was a good day on a street track that typically suited the Chevrolet Lacetti."

Rob Huff (2nd/11th): "As I said yesterday, we baked the cake in qualifying and put the icing and even some cherrie's on top today. It was a very good day, especially for the boys who have worked so hard. Alain and I pushed hard at the start, but between the three of us we knew that none of us was going to do anything silly. I had two of the worlds best drivers in front of me and right behind, so I knew I could just concentrate on keeping my second place. In the second race I misjudged passing Yvan (Muller) going into Turn 2, and then the wheels locked, so I ended up in the wall. Im really sorry for the team."

Nicola Larini (3rd/20th): "As Rob said, we were not going to try anything tricky between ourselves. Considering the ballast I was running, keeping my third place was the best I could hope for. With the reversed grid for race 2, my strategy was 'maximum attack' as to score as many points as possible. Everything worked well and after the safety car I had a good run at Coronel and passed him for third. Then, defending my position on the straight I must have picked up some dirt going off-line and lost all grip when I braked, ending up in the wall. Im really disappointed."

Ray Mallock: "An awesome result for the team! Today has been another important milestone for us, whereby the professionalism of the team and the way we go about achieving the best for the whole team in every area clearly showed. To have Alain finish on the podium twice is the best proof of that."

Eric Neve: "What a valuable day! It was good to see that many expressive faces in this friendly country where Chevrolet and RML demonstrated the reliability of the Lacetti in its natural environment."

PORTO RACE 1 RESULTS
1. A Menu Chevrolet Lacetti 13 laps in 34m07s853 (Ave: 107.70kph)
2. R Huff Chevrolet Lacetti + 0s837
3. N Larini Chevrolet Lacetti + 1s618
4. G Tarquini SEAT Leon + 1s929
5. Y Muller SEAT Leon + 5s418

PORTO RACE 2 RESULTS
1. A Priaulx BMW 320si 13 laps in 32m02s175 (Ave: 114.74kph)
2. J Mller BMW 320si + 2s057
3. A Menu Chevrolet Lacetti + 4s394
4. T Coronel SEAT Leon + 4s798
5. Y Muller SEAT Leon + 6s188
11. R Huff Chevrolet Lacetti + 18s801
20. N Larini Chevrolet Lacetti + 1 lap (Accident)

DRIVERS POINTS STANDINGS AFTER RACE 12 OF 22
1. J Mller (BMW), 58pts; 2. A Farfus (BMW), 56; 3. A Priaulx (BMW) 56; 4. Y Muller (SEAT) 39; 5. A Menu (Chevrolet), 38 ; 5. N Larini (Chevrolet) 38; 9. R Huff (Chevrolet) 22;

MANUFACTURERS STANDINGS AFTER RACE 12 OF 22
1. BMW, 167pts; 2. SEAT, 124; 3. Chevrolet, 111; 4. Alfa Romeo, 57.

CHEVROLET RACING INSIGHT ON THE WEB
Throughout the 2007 WTCC season, Chevrolet Insight will show you the behind-the-scenes of the Chevrolet WTCC racing team. On Saturday and Sunday, media and fans alike will get the latest information and can ask their questions via the web in Chevrolets own web cast. The web address is www.chevrolet-insight.com. First airings will be at 8.00pm local time (9.00pm Zrich time, 3.00pm Detroit time, 2.00am Seoul time), after which the 15-minute programme can be viewed as Video On Demand by clicking the appropriate button. New for 2007 is that the programme will now go out at all the events of the championship.

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