Another 1-2 for the Cruzes in Germany

The Chevrolet Cruzes added further success to their 2011 collection (14 wins out of 16 races so far!) with Yvan Muller and Rob Huff posting another 1-2 in Sunday’s Race 1 in Oschersleben. Alain Menu completed the excellent day for the Chevrolet team with a podium finish (2nd) in Race 2, which saw the victory of local hero Franz Engstler.

With these results, Chevrolet has further extended its lead in the Manufacturers’ standings while the battle is closer and more exciting than ever in the Drivers’ championship, with Rob and Yvan separated by only 6 points and Alain in third position. The WTCC is now taking a short summer break ahead of the last four events, Spain and the three event Asian tour.

Race 1 in Germany saw Yvan Muller taking a flag to flag win ahead of Rob Huff, who recovered well from a small mistake in lap 3, when he went wide at a corner, while Alain Menu finished 5th.

In Race 2, Alain made good use of his position in the grid to finish second, despite some understeering problems, while Yvan and Rob exchanged positions a couple of time as they were fighting with other competitors in the middle of a very lively group. They eventually finished 5th and 6th, respectively

Yvan Muller (1st / 5th): “An excellent weekend for me, as I took another win and managed to further reduce the points gap with respect to Rob. In Race 1, things may have appeared to be easy for me on TV, but they weren’t in reality, as I had a set-up for the wet and the track started drying up after a couple of laps. Still, I managed to keep the advantage and win. Race 2 was definitely more lively, as Rob and I got tangled in a couple of fights with other drivers, but I managed to score some points and further reduce the difference with respect to Rob, so I cannot complain.”

Alain Menu (5th / 2nd): "A good weekend for me, given the understeer problems I had throughout. Race 1 was so and so, I just didn’t have the right pace, because of not enough grip on the front wheels, which penalised me especially in the slow sections. All of a sudden, at mid-race, things improved but it just lasted for a couple of laps. I was happy to be able to pass Coronel and Nykjaer and take a fifth position. In Race 2, I had a good start, then managed to take third from Monteiro quite early into the race, but there was little I could do against the BMWs. When Michelisz made a mistake, I became second, I was not far from Engstler but was never in a position to attack him. I congratulate him for his first victory, he is a nice guy and he deserves it.”

Rob Huff (2nd / 6th): "I go away from Germany still leading the championship, although the margin has been reduced, so I cannot complain. Second in Race 1 was not too bad, after the mistake I did in lap 3, when I ran wide exiting too fast from a corner. I was simply pushing too hard. I was lucky to be able to rejoin the race and then I did my best to come back, so second just behind Yvan is a good result. Race 2 was difficult, I was ahead of Yvan but Monteiro pushed me wide at the first chicane, forgetting that Yvan was there too and opening the way for him passing both of us, but that’s racing! It was difficult to battle with cars which had less compensation weight, so there is little more I could do.”