The FIA World Touring Car Championship (WTCC) will make its highly anticipated debut on the demanding Nürburgring Nordschleife this weekend and the Russian LADA SPORT ROSNEFT outfit will field a two-car assault for driver Rob Huff and series returnee, Jaap van Lagen (15-16 May).
Known as ‘The Green Hell’, the 12.93mile Nordschleife is the world’s longest racetrack, and, with its 154 corners, inclines of up to 17 percent and several changes in the track surface, the WTCC’s Race of Germany is one everybody will want to win.
Regular LADA SPORT ROSNEFT driver, Huff, will be joined by Dutchman Jaap van Lagen in the team’s second Vesta TC1. The Dutch driver has prior experience of competing at the Nordschleife, and, with two skilled drivers at the wheel of Vesta cars the Russian squad believes that the strong results can be achieved in the Race of Germany.
Due to the damage Huff’s car sustained in a testing crash at the Hungarian circuit last week, the Russian team decided to concentrate on the preparation of the two cars for the WTCC’s Race of Germany. Given the complexity of the circuit, it’s extremely necessary to have the drivers with a great knowledge of the track, which is why LADA SPORT ROSNEFT invited van Lagen to contest the event together with 2012 Champion, Huff, who also has several races at the Nordschleife under his belt.
Two weeks ago Huff took to the daunting circuit in his LADA Vesta TC1 to get a feel of both the track and the Newmarket-based driver ran faultlessly throughout the day, calling upon his prior experiences in the VLN and the ADAC Zurich Nürburgring 24 Hour to conclude the session with the ninth best time (8m49.432s)
Van Lagen, aged 38, most recently tested the second LADA SPORT ROSNEFT Vesta TC1 alongside Huff at the Hungaroring, getting up-to-speed with the yellow and gold-liveried machine ahead of his WTCC return on a track he knows well.
“The Nürburgring Nordschleife is the most challenging circuit in the world,” said Huff. “It’s by far the longest track too, and that means the cars are given more of a workout than they ordinarily would at more conventional circuits. In contrast to the velvet-smooth F1-style circuits we typically visit, the Nordschleife is a bumpy and undulating road course, so setups will be different and finding the correct balance will be critical.”
Jaap van Lagen added: “The LADA Vesta is for sure a big improvement, a huge step forward, and I believe it has a lot of potential to be at the front of the grid. I am happy to be back in WTCC with LADA Sport – the team I drove for in 2008-2009. Hopefully we can have good results here. I know this track very well, and the knowledge of the track is critical here and could be a big advantage, because Nordschleife is really difficult for the drivers.”