LADA World Touring Car Championship (WTCC) drivers Rob Huff, James Thompson and Mikhail Kozlovskiy enjoyed a “very useful” test around the Nürburgring Nordschleife on Tuesday, ahead of the Race of Germany in just over two weeks’ time.
The trio were forced to share the one car as a result of the crash between Kozlovskiy and Huff in Marrakech. Taking turns at the wheel of Thompson’s car, the Brit ended the day as the fastest of the trio, posting a time of 8 minutes 49.431 seconds.
Huff was 12th fastest a further 11 seconds back, whilst Kozlovskiy was more than a minute off the pace having failed to complete a fast, clean lap.
“When you’re competing in an endurance race around the Nordschleife you’re not necessarily driving flat-out all the time, whereas we will,” said Thompson of the intricate differences compared to ‘normal’ Nordschleife races. “There doesn’t look to be many overtaking spots, so qualifying will play an important part in the weekend, therefore you’ve got to aim for that first and then worry about the race itself.
“These tests were important in terms of getting acquainted with the racetrack, because I’ve never raced here before, but of course, it needs much more laps to get used to it and feel comfortable.”
Huff explained that the unique properties of the track meant finding the correct set-up would be crucial, although the Brit has previously raced in the legendary 24 Hour race around the ‘Ring, something which he believes will work to his advantage.
“The Nurburgring 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. Fortunately, having raced around the circuit four times previously, I have a lot of previous experience and knowledge to call upon.
“I also plan to take part in Nurburgring 24 Hours Race after the WTCC race, so it will be a busy weekend for me.”
Kozlovskiy added that the team had visited the track a week previously in order to learn it better, with the official WTCC test day also proving useful for the Russian.
“Before the official testing we had the opportunity to learn this track on the simulator, provided by our partner Hexathron,” said Kozlovskiy. “Also, last week we had some laps using the ordinary cars just to get the first taste of the circuit. All these things helped a lot, and now I feel more confident.
“At this track you can feel the elevation, there are many ‘blind’ corners, and the more laps you make here, the more comfortable you feel. Generally, this pre-event testing was very useful and I look forward to driving Vesta TC1 at the Race of Germany.”