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Valencia: Series pre-event news

THE 2011 CHEVROLET CRUZE HITS THE TRACK The new Chevrolet Cruze for the 2011 WTCC took to the track yesterday and today for the first time at MIRA proving ground, with Rob Huff at the wheel. This was a key step in the preparation for next season ...

THE 2011 CHEVROLET CRUZE HITS THE TRACK

The new Chevrolet Cruze for the 2011 WTCC took to the track yesterday and today for the first time at MIRA proving ground, with Rob Huff at the wheel. This was a key step in the preparation for next season that will see the debut of the new 1.6 turbocharged engine entirely designed, built and developed by Chevrolet and RML.

This first shake-down was completely satisfactory and the testing and development programme will continue in the forthcoming days at MIRA and other tracks.

Rob Huff commented: "It is always a very emotional moment for a driver and a team to take a new car to the track for its first miles, and particularly this time, as the Cruze 2011 and its new engine are an ambitious and challenging project. Now starts the development phase and much work lies ahead, but what I can tell from today's first test is that it is a very interesting evolution and that WTCC racing is going to be extremely exciting in 2011!"

LOCAL MEDIA MEET WTCC DRIVERS IN VALENCIA

The WTCC Race of Spain was officially launched yesterday at Valencia's Circuit Ricardo Tormo in a meeting attended by representatives of the local media.

The press were welcomed by Niurka Montalvo, Secretary for Sports of the Comunidad Valenciana and long jump gold medalist for Spain in the 1999 World Athletics Championships at Seville, Julio Garcia, the circuit's General Manager, and Jean-Louis Dauger, Director of Operation at Eurosport Events.

Later the journalists met a representative of drivers from the different series: Gabriele Tarquini, Yvan Muller, Augusto Farfus, Jordi Gene and home boy Sergio Hernandez for WTCC, Ramon Piñeiro for Formula 2, and Marcos de Diego for the SEAT Eurocup.

After the interviews, Njurka Montalvo and the journalists experienced the thrill of a ride in racing cars on board Muller's Chevrolet Cruze and de Diego's SEAT Leon.

TWO DRIVERS FROM JAPAN JOIN ENGSTLER

The Liqui Moly Team Engstler will add a third car for Japanese drivers at the two final events of the season in Japan and Macau.

Yoshihiro Ito - 33-years-old from Osaka - will join the team's regular drivers Franz Engstler and Andrei Romanov at Okayama. Ito is facing his maiden appearance in the WTCC; he spent the 2009 season racing in the Japanese Super GT with a Porsche Boxster.

Masaki Kano - 34-years-old from Hyogo - will take over the car for the Macau finale. A former Asian Touring Car champion (in 2007), Kano has already made three WTCC appearances with the German team, at Okayama in 2008 and 2009, and Macau in 2008.

Both, Ito and Kano, had the possibility to test their BMW 320si car last week in Oschersleben.

-source: wtcc

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