The FIA World Touring Car Championship (WTCC) returns from its mid-season break with the Race of Argentina at Autodromo Termas de Rio Hondo and LADA SPORT ROSNEFT is confident it can continue adding to its podiums tally (6-7 August).
LADA SPORT has come of age in 2016. Argentina was the scene of its first ever WTCC podium result in 2014 and it went on to make sporadic appearances inside the top three, but it’s this year with drivers Nick Catsburg, Gabriele Tarquini and Hugo Valente that the Russian manufacturer team has established itself as a frontrunner.
Silverware has been collected for numerous podiums and race wins, including a sensational one-two result on home turf at Moscow Raceway, and LADA SPORT believes it has the potential to deny home hero Jose Maria Lopez a shot at another victory in front of his fervent Argentinean fans, who turn out in their droves every year.
Ultimately, Catsburg will not only be vying to defend his top three placing, but take the fight to Tiago Monteiro who is only four points ahead in the Drivers’ standings, while Tarquini is keen to improve on eighth in the championship and Valente to utilise his ever-rising confidence to produce stronger results.
Catsburg said: “I am very happy to be back at the wheel of my LADA Vesta, especially on the new racetrack in Argentina, which I have never visited. It’s so nice to resume the battle for WTCC points again and we have very ambitious goals. I am very pleased with the first half of the season; we have scored many podiums and even performed well with 70kgs of ballast.
“We are now third in the championship and obviously we are all happy with this. We had a good test session at Motorland Aragon in mid-July and we hope that some improvements we’ve made will allow us to be even stronger. I’m really looking forward to the Race of Argentina – the circuit layout looks very nice and flowing. I expect it to be good for us.”
Valente added: “I’m looking forward being in Argentina again. It has been a long time with no driving for me, but I’m excited to be on a racetrack again. After seven rounds I definitely feel more comfortable at the wheel of my LADA Vesta, although I find it much harder to drive than the car I had in previous seasons. It definitely makes me work more behind the wheel and should make me a better driver by the end of the year. I believe I’m getting there – I’ve been improving little by little on the past races.
“There are a lot of positives for LADA to take from the first half of the season, but I expected better performances from myself and I really hope to improve in the rest of the races. I look forward to each round on the calendar, but especially Japan and Qatar, where we will have a night race. It makes it exciting for everyone in terms of the schedule and vision, but I also have very good memories from there last year.”
Tarquini said: “I feel really motivated for the second part of the season. We had a productive development programme during the summer break – mostly we were focused on chassis development. I like the Argentinean circuit; I finished here second in Race 2 in 2013. I know it very well. It will be interesting to see how the LADA Vesta performs and I am sure we will be competitive. I am happy to see how our car has progressed so far and I am pleased to have contributed as much as possible to this development. I am also delighted to share my experience with my teammates and watch their progress also.”