Historic double win for the Cruze in Africa

Chevrolet wrote history today in Morocco, as the Cruze obtained the first two wins of its racing career, in the first-ever WTCC event held in Africa: Rob Huff took the maiden win, dominating race 1 from flag to flag, while Nicola Larini doubled the count when he clinched his first, long-awaited and well-deserved victory in a closely-fought race 2. It was a less lucky day for Alain Menu, who finished 7th in race 1 and suffered a race incident in race 2.

This memorable week-end for Chevrolet also included Rob's third position in race 2 and Nic's sixth in race 1, which add to Rob's pole position and the fastest laps in both races (with Rob and Alain, respectively). In only three events, the new Cruze has proven to have reached an excellent level of competitiveness, thanks to an extraordinary team effort and the significant progress achieved since the new car's debut in South America.

[B]QUOTES[/B]

[B]Rob Huff[/B] (1st/3rd): "It's a wonderful day and the car has been just fantastic throughout the week-end. In race 1, starting from the pole, I knew that if I could keep my line I had a slight advantage, so most of the work was done. That's what happened and once in first position I focused on trying not to overheat the brakes, which was the main challenge at this track.

As from lap 4, the brake' temperature became quite high indeed, but that was the case for everybody, and things luckily didn't change much. Race 2 was more lively, I managed to overtake one SEAT at the start and another one later on, and then gained two more positions when Jorg Müller and Alain hit trouble, finishing again on the podium. I am very happy, for the team, for Nicola and myself."

[B]Nicola Larini[/B] (6th/1st): "At last! I have been waiting so long for this first victory with Chevrolet that I have no words! It is just fantastic, for me and for the entire team. Race 1 was pretty uneventful, in race 2 I made a good start and when Jorg Müller and Alain had a contact at the chicane, I managed to pass Alain, who had lost speed and the best line."

"Then I kept attacking Müller, I was faster than him, but overtaking is almost impossible in this track, so I just kept putting the pressure on him until he made a little mistake. Once at the front, I just pushed as hard as I could. I just wanted this race win so much."

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Credits: JRC