LADA Sport will take part in a programme of testing at the Algarve International Circuit next week, as the Russian team prepares to step up to a three-car campaign for the next round of the World Touring Car Championship (WTCC) in Morocco.
All three of the team’s drivers, Rob Huff, James Thompson and Mikhail Kozlovskiy, will take to the track in Portugal in order to test “technical solutions for improving and increasing reliability of the new LADA Vesta”.
The team took to the track in the first round of the WTCC in Argentina with only two cars for Huff and Thompson, with Russian Kozlovskiy forced to watch from the sidelines whilst hiscar was completed back at the team’s base in France.
In the end, Huff and Thompson retired from both of the first two races of the season. Both Brits suffered contact from competitors during the races, damaging the suspension on the brand new cars.
A statement from the team said: “LADA SPORT ROSNEFT engineers have determined a plan of development for the Vesta TC1 using data collected from the season opening Round at Argentina earlier this month, where the Vesta made its competitive debut when piloted by Huff and Thompson, who gave positive feedback, noting its excellent speed and performance.
While some parts have already been tested this week at the team’s technical base in France, the upcoming tests in Portimao will make up the lack of the pre-season testing, and the team hopes that LADA Vesta will be more competitive in Morocco.”
The second round of the WTCC takes place at the Marrakech Street Circuit between the 17 and 19 April.