The 2007 World Touring Car Championship witnessed its most competitive qualifying session ever at the German Oschersleben track near Magdeburg, today. No less than twenty cars qualified within the same second, something never seen before in the WTCC. This result is even more poignant when one considers the twisty nature of the track.

Despite the heavy ballast all three Chevrolet drivers were carrying (60kgs for Nicola Larini, 45kgs for Alain Menu and 40kgs for Rob Huff) they nevertheless confirmed the good form of the Lacetti at this track, something which had already been established at the winter group test. Tomorrow, Larini and Menu are looking at improving their championship positions which are fourth and fifth respectively.

• QUOTES

Alain Menu: “My first run was not so good; actually it was quite a messy lap. The battery light on the dashboard kept coming on which distracted me. The second run on the other hand was a great lap, which moved me up to P5. For the last run we decided to follow Yvan [Müller] around, but I don’t know whether in the end that has helped me or not. At one point I braked a tiny bit later than normal, so my time could still have been a bit better. Overall, the car went very well, but tomorrow is another day and it will be interesting to see what will happen at the front. Keeping out of trouble will be a least as big a mission as trying to score the most points”

Rob Huff: “My second run was quite good, but we then decided to change the roll bar for the third run, but apparently we just went a bit too far in that. Still, it will be a very competitive race tomorrow, with lots of people in places on the grid where they not normally start from. From my fourteenth spot I should still have a reasonable chance at getting into the top eight for the reverse grid for race 2, depending on what will happen in front of me in race 1.”

Nicola Larini: “My car suffered from oversteer all through the session, so in the end we decided to leave a used rear left tyre on the car and just change the other three. That, unfortunately, didn’t cure the problem and on top of that I ran wide in a corner on my last run, so I decided to abort that lap and just come in. From where I am now starting, it will realistically be next to impossible to have much of a say in my own race. But I will try hard as usual and attack where I can. That is the only strategic option open to me: attack!”

Eric Nève: “Ten cars qualifying in just three tenths of a second; it’s something we haven’t seen before. I hope we can have two good races like we normally have, and with Alain on the third row of the grid for the rolling start I’m sure everything is still possible. The good thing is that our 1800 guests we’re having tomorrow will get to see one hell of a show. Real racing with real cars doesn’t get any better than this!”

OSCHERSLEBEN QUALIFYING RESULTS

1. G Tarquini Seat Leon 1m36s291
2. Y Muller Seat Leon TDi + 0s011
3. R Colciago Seat Leon + 0.014
4. J Müller BMW 320si + 0s062
5. A Menu Chevrolet Lacetti + 0s180
14. R Huff Chevrolet Lacetti + 0s209
19. N Larini Chevrolet Lacetti + 0s886