The Russian LADA SPORT ROSNEFT team spent three days testing at Algarve International Circuit in Portugal (6-8 March) to assess the updated LADA Vesta TC1 ahead of the 2016 FIA World Touring Car Championship (WTCC) season.
The team’s trio of drivers, Gabriele Tarquini, Nick Catsburg and Hugo Valente extracted the maximum in warm and dry weather conditions, lapping consistently over the course of the three-day test to gain a better understanding of the revised Vesta racecar.
Gabriele Tarquini: “I drove the car on the first day of the test. We were lucky with the weather; it was a completely dry day, although high winds were a problem. I did 50 laps without any mechanical problems and we tested different geometry and the front and rear suspension configurations.
“For me it was a great opportunity to discover the car, as I only drove the Vesta in rainy Magny-Cours where the temperatures have been very low. In parallel we continued to improve the engine performance and torque delivery. I’m happy to see that the car is sensitive to the changes we made. I also followed the test with Nick (Catsburg) and Hugo (Valente) because I wanted to share with them the feelings of the car and development plan for the first race.”
Nick Catsburg: “I was very happy to be back at the wheel of the LADA Vesta. The team has worked effectively on the updates and the car feels very good. We put a lot of focus and made big progress in terms of standing start, which was our weak point last year and often made and races more difficult for us, as we could not capitalise on the car’s qualifying speed.
“The new engine management system has been seriously upgraded, the traction is also much better now and the general power delivery has been improved. In general thanks to the major engine and suspension upgrades, the Vesta looks really promising ahead of the 2016 WTCC season. It is also nice to see Gabriele Tarquini’s experience already having an influence in a very positive way.”
Hugo Valente: “I’m happy with how testing has gone so far. I had limited dry running in the car, so it was very important for me to do as many fair weather testing laps as possible. It was very useful in terms of getting knowledge about the car and gaining confidence behind the wheel of a racecar, as it’s the first time I’ve got my hands on a proper steering wheel since 2015 WTCC finale in Qatar.
“The updates brought by LADA SPORT and ORECA seem to be working nicely. I had no experience of the 2015 car, so it’s hard for me to compare, but the feedback from Gabriele (Tarquini) and Nicky (Catsburg) on both the engine and suspension is positive, so hopefully the Vesta will possess better pace and there will be an improvement in terms of reliability and consistency during long runs. I am very much looking forward to the beginning of the season and going back up against the other teams, when we will get a better idea of where we stand in terms of performance.”
LADA SPORT ROSNEFT has one more test scheduled for mid-March at Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours in France before the season kicks off at Circuit Paul Ricard on 1-3 April.