New WTCC Lada makes test debut

Lada Sport's new ORECA-developed Vesta TC1 car has made its track debut at Magny-Cours after the team skipped last week's official World Touring Car Championship launch.

Team principal Victor Shapovalov warned that the late completion of the car, coupled with an early start to the season, meant that the initial races may have to be treated as test sessions.

"The new car fully meets our expectations for the fact that it boasts higher straightline speeds, greater cornering stability and much-improved aerodynamics," he said. "Unfortunately, due to the early season start this year we are time-restricted, and it's obvious that tests will continue during the first WTCC rounds.

"The team has completed a huge bulk of the work over these two months and we are still working 24 hours a day to be prepared for the first race in Argentina."

Since all the cars and equipment have to be delivered to Frankfurt this Thursday for onward air-freighting to the first round of the season in South America, Lada focused on running at the nearest track to ORECA's base rather than travelling to Barcelona.

The Vesta replaces the Granta, with which Rob Huff won two races last year. Huff remains with the team for 2015 along with James Thomson and Mikhail Kozlovskiy.

"Having driven the new Vesta there is no doubt that this is a proper racecar worthy of a proper effort in 2015," said Huff. "We knew that we had to make a significant step forward to move to the next level and I believe this is the vehicle to take us there."

Originally on Autosport.com