Curitiba: Chevrolet hat-trick in qualifying

The purpose of free practice is to prepare a driver and a car for qualifying and the race. During this time spent on the track, very often, everyone hides their game. Until Saturday afternoon when the time comes to find a place on the starting grid. As one might expect, Chevrolet hit hard, placing three of its four Cruzes at the forefront.

The fastest turned out to be Rob Huff. Narrowly passed into Q2 after wanting too much to try to get a good place in race 2 (see the new rule here), the Briton enjoyed a better time than Yvan Muller before the appearance of a few drops of rain froze the positions. “ It’s a fantastic start to the season, he rejoiced. The team did a very good job and, thanks to Yvan and “Cacá ", we are in the best possible position for race 1. My pole time is very good. Honestly, we didn't set a specific time, just the desire to sign the best ».

Yvan Muller will therefore not have won a third consecutive pole on the Brazilian circuit. “ I'm not disappointed though, said the double French world champion in 2008 and 2010. I particularly enjoyed the second part of qualifying because I was able to drive my car at the limit. I can say that she behaves very well. Now the question is how it will react over the distance of a race. The fact that the temperatures are not too high will help us I think ».

The third thief was ultimately not Alain Menu. Trapped in Q1, the Swiss left it to freelancer Carlos “Cacá” Bueno to complete the Chevrolet top three. “ It?s a special weekend for me because I want to satisfy my fans. It's difficult because I compete in the WTCC and the Copa Caixa Stock Car, which forces me to juggle from one car to another, which are very different. Finishing third in qualifying is a great start ».

In the Independents clan, despite the efforts of Kristian Poulsen and his BMW 320 TC, the best time went to Michel Nykjaer, author of a promising fourth time. “ The Seat Leon TDI may be old but it still drives well. My goal today was to get into the top 10 in Q1. I must therefore admit that setting the 4th fastest time in Q2 and benefiting from pole position in race 2 exceeds my expectations He concluded.