Lada stays positive despite problems

Lada Sport Rosneft may have had another bad weekend at Hungaroring but the Russian team has not lost its optimism in the WTCC.

As British driver James Thompson had to withdraw from both races in Hungary due to health problems, it was up to his teammates Rob Huff and Mikhail Kozlovskiy to boost the team’s performance. Unfortunately,  due to technical problems Kozlovskiy had to stay in the garage, leaving the former champion Huff alone.

To his credit, the Briton did a pretty solid job finishing ninth in the first race, but in the second he had to retire after he made hefty contact with other cars in the second corner.

Regardless of all the problems afflicting Lada at the start of the season, team principal Viktor Shapovalov is positive and believes better days lie ahead for his team.

“Clearly this wasn’t the weekend that the team planned and hoped for in Hungary. The positive thing is that the pace in qualifying is getting better with every racing weekend. We shall emerge stronger for the challenges at Nurburgring and buid on the pace the Vesta clearly has,” said Shapovalov.

After six rounds, Lada Sport team collected only 44 points and is at the bottom place of Manufacturers’ championship, far behind Citroen and Honda.