Pernia scored on his first appearance

Argentine driver Leonel Pernía managed to score his first WTCC point on his maiden appearance, despite everything – circuit, team, car and tyres – was totally new to him. After a cautious approach at the wheel of the fourth Chevrolet Cruze car, run by the Chevrolet Motorsport Sweden team, Pernía improved consistently throughout the Monza weekend.

The Argentine had a puncture in the late stages of the first race, stopping in the gravel trap of the Parabolica while he was 11th. Therefore he started Race 2 from the back of the grid and completed a brilliant recovery up to the 10th position. His fastest lap of 2:02.582 was only 7 hundredths slower than the race winner Yvan Muller’s.

"I had some exciting battles in the middle of the pack in race 1. Starting from the back in race 2, I managed to follow Alain (Menu) and move ahead of all the privateers to score a world championship point. This was the reward to an amazing weekend: I must thank Chevrolet and the entire team for this opportunity. Having had my first run with the car during Friday’s testing session, this was the best I could hope for in my first racing experience outside Argentina," commented Pernía who returned to Argentina and the Equipo Petrobras to take part this weekend in the TC2000 round at Alta Gracia.