Chevrolet saw five of their six cars finish inside the top ten during testing ahead of the penultimate round of the 2012 World Touring Car Championship in Shanghai, China.
In cloudy but dry conditions, the three works drivers had mixed results ahead of rounds 21 and 22 at the Chinese Grand Prix venue.
The 4.6km Shanghai International Circuit hosts the WTCC for the first time and the 2012 Manufacturers Champions saw their drivers, Rob Huff, Yvan Muller and Alain Menu secure mixed results.
Rob Huff was the leading works Chevrolet driver as he finished second fastest, just behind the bamboo engineering car of Alex MacDowall.
“I’m pleased with the session and with the balance of the car, although we did not follow the initial work programme,” explained the joint Championship leader. “We did not put new tires on at the end of the session, as we normally do. The track was quite slippery and there was a lot of traffic, but eventually I could do a good lap time. The circuit is fantastic: very interesting from a driving perspective and incredible facilities, I am really happy to be here.”
Yvan Muller, who is tied at the top of the standings finished sixth fastest having focused on his race pace during the session.
“It was a good start of the weekend, and I spent the session doing a full race run,” added the Frenchman. “I really wanted to check everything in race conditions, and I am happy with the result. We still have to work on the set-up, but the base from where we start seems OK.”
The third Championship contender, Alain Menu, had a tough time during the test session and didn’t enjoy the circuit apart from the first corner.
“Today there was really very low grip on the track, so there was no point in putting on new tires or trying to do a lap time,” added the Swiss driver. “I worked on the set-up and still have some understeering to correct. I hope the track will get better and faster tomorrow morning. I found the circuit not that exciting. Except for the first one, the corners are slower than I thought.”
Colin Turkington in his return to the WTCC finished fifth fastest in the WSR run Chevrolet Cruze while the second bamboo engineering car of Darryl O’Young was 8th fastest, meaning Chevrolet had five cars inside the top 10.