After a successful run in Japan, the Chevy Cruze World Touring Car Championship (WTCC) team heads to Shanghai, China for its second-to-last events of the 2012 season.
Going into Shanghai, the official Chevy Cruze team has already won the Manufacturers’ championship with 835 points — far ahead of BMW’s 543 and SEAT’s 532. But what makes the two Shanghai heats exciting is the fact that the three Chevrolet drivers are all vying for the coveted drivers’ title, which mathematically can only be won by one of them.
Going into the Shanghai events of the 2012 WTCC season taking place November 3rd and 4th, Yvan Muller and Rob Huff are tied for first at 345 points — with Muller leading by virtue of more wins — eight to Huff’s four. And having closed the gap in Japan, teammate Alain Menu is in the running for the drivers’ crown as well; he is 38 points behind the top two drivers, with a total of 307 points. Menu will have to close the gap even further in Shanghai to have a chance to snag first at the final round in Macau.
If you recall, the WTCC series visited Shanghai last year, as well. This year, however, the event is making the switch to a different track and will be racing on the International Circuit — the main motorsports establishment in the area that also hosts F1. The WTCC event will race on a modified 4.603 km version of the circuit, skipping turns 5 and 7 of the original F1 track. As per usual, two races will take place — with 13 laps to be completed at each of the two heats.
Meanwhile, Chevy has announced that it has no plans to compete in the 2013 WTCC season, which means that after the two heats at Shanghai and two more at Macao, this will be the last we see of the European trio for a while.
So, which Chevy WTCC driver do you hope will will at Shanghai? Sound off in the comments below!
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