Alain Menu secures race two front row for ‘Michel Vaillant’

Alain Menu will start from ninth place for tomorrow’s first race after a problem on his flying lap in Q2, but will benefit from the reversed top ten grid as a result and will start from a provisional second place in race two, running in the promotional livery of French comic book legend Michel Vaillant.

Menu, who sits third in the Championship standings now 35 points behind Chevrolet team-mate Yvan Muller after qualifying, was disappointed with qualifying but hopes to be able to take advantage of his second place in race two to repeat the race victory he took in Valencia’s second race from the same spot on the grid.

“The car was good and the lap was OK until the last corner,” said Menu to TouringCarTimes. “I had massive oversteer as soon as I turned in and I was going to run wide, and my time would have been disallowed if I was to go four wheels off course so I backed off. Otherwise the lap would have been good enough for P4.”

Alain Menu is in character this weekend as fictional French driver Michel Vaillant, with the car carrying the livery of the character’s Vaillante team this weekend and also carries Vaillant’s name on the TV feed. The car also featured Vaillant’s name on the windows in free practice 1, but they were replaced with Menu’s name by the second session after a request from the FIA.

Menu, in Vaillant’s overalls, with black hair dye and a new crash helmet modelled on Vaillant’s design is quite happy with the reception of the character at the Portimão circuit this weekend.
“There is more buzz than I expected, so that means it was the right decision to do it,” said Menu.