Press release
251KB
april 20, 2016 - Citroen
WTCC - López snatches victory in nailbiter!
José María López emerged victorious in today’s FIA #wtcc meeting at the Slovakia Ring, in a main race that was still undecided going into the final bend. The Citroën Total driver has established himself as the man to beat at the start of the 2016 season, despite the 80kg of ballast carried by his Citroën #celysewtcc.
Just like yesterday for qualifying, the spectators arriving at the Slovakia Ring were met with glorious sunshine. In accordance with the new regulations, the top ten from qualifying lined up in reverse order on the opening-race starting grid. That meant #josmaralpez began from eighth place, and #yvanmuller from tenth.
Mehdi Bennani made a sensational start from the front row to grab the lead. In the chasing pack, Pechito López and #yvanmuller also made headway, climbing to fifth and sixth place respectively by the end of lap 1.
López soon tried to make his way past Tarquini, but strayed a little too wide, allowing Muller to slip through. The two Citroën C-Elysée WTCCs remained locked together until lap 7, when López seized an opportunity to regain the upper hand.
With three laps to go, Tiago Monteiro took the lead, with Mehdi Bennani then having to devote his energy to keeping Rob Huff at bay until the chequered flag.
The final lap also saw an impressive rally from Norbert Michelisz, who passed #yvanmuller before putting pressure on #josmaralpez. The two-time World Champion held firm to cling on to his fifth place, while his teammate crossed the finish line in seventh.
After a one-hour break, the mechanics were able to prepare the cars for the main race. When the lights went out, #yvanmuller made an uncertain start from pole. Pechito López, in contrast, got away superbly, catapulting himself past two of his rivals and into the lead. After being hit by Nick Catsburg on the first turn, #yvanmuller found himself in third.
The four-time World Champion then dropped a further five places after a collision with Rob Huff. An inauspicious start for Citroën clan was then compounded as López was overtaken by Catsburg! Despite significant vibrations in the rear of his vehicle, Pechito tried to stay on Catsburg’s tail, while keeping a watchful eye on Tiago Monteiro behind him.
The pace was upped with three laps to go, and Catsburg faltered. Suddenly, the top three were separated by a hair’s breadth, and Pechito snatched the lead! With Monteiro still a threat, the Argentine held his nerve till the end to secure a second consecutive main-race win. Having fought hard to hold his position in the pack, #yvanmuller took sixth spot and thus scored some valuable points.
Tomorrow, the Citroën Total team will set off for Budapest. The third FIA World Touring Car Championship meeting of the 2016 season will take place at the Hungaroring on April 23 and 24.
WHAT THEY HAD TO SAY
Yves Matton (Team Principal, Citroën Racing): “After two races in which we had a severe handicap in relation to our competitors, we can be satisfied that we are still in the mix. The team prepared exceptionally well for this meeting, as we all knew it was going to be even tougher for us than at Paul Ricard. The engineers found a good balance in the setup, so that our cars would be fast without suffering too much wear on their tyres. Unfortunately, Yvan wasn’t able to make the most of his pole position, but Pechito fought hard for a victory that was anything but a foregone conclusion. For us, the 2016 season will begin afresh next week in Hungary, when we will be competing on equal terms after the compensation weights are rebalanced.”
José María López (Citroën #celysewtcc No. 37): “I’m happy to be driving a Citroën that is so quick… and so solid! The start of the main race was important. I got away perfectly and managed to take the lead. I pushed hard to open up a bit of an advantage over the first two laps. Then I felt some major vibrations in the rear left of my car. Something was broken. The noise disappeared, then came back again. On all the right-hand turns, I thought I was going to have to pull out! I tried to stay focused and asked the team how many laps were left. Nick seemed to be struggling at the end. I managed to get past him, but it was really tight right down to the wire. That makes this win even more enjoyable.”
Yvan Muller (Citroën #celysewtcc No. 68): “I did pretty well in the first race. I started OK and I was satisfied with my final position, given the ballast and the fact that I drove within myself so as not to compromise my chances for the rest of the day. We got our starting strategy wrong in the main race. From that moment on, I was out of it, as my car wasn’t set up to drive in the pack. Some of the drivers’ behaviour was a little borderline, but none of that would have happened if I had got a good start! I’m hoping for a better time next weekend in Hungary.”
RESULTS AND STANDINGS
OPENING RACE
1. Tiago Monteiro (Honda Civic WTCC)
2. Mehdi Bennani (Citroën C-Elysée WTCC)
3. Rob Huff (Honda Civic WTCC)
4. Gabriele Tarquini (Lada Vesta WTCC)
5. #josmaralpez (Citroën C-Elysée WTCC)
6. Norbert Michelisz (Honda Civic WTCC)
7. #yvanmuller (Citroën C-Elysée WTCC)
8. Tom Chilton (Citroën C-Elysée WTCC)
12. Grégoire Demoustier (Citroën C-Elysée WTCC)
Fastest lap: Rob Huff (2m07.105s)
MAIN RACE
1. #josmaralpez (Citroën C-Elysée WTCC)
2. Tiago Monteiro (Honda Civic WTCC)
3. Nick Catsburg (Lada Vesta WTCC)
4. Norbert Michelisz (Honda Civic WTCC)
5. #yvanmuller (Citroën C-Elysée WTCC)
6. Mehdi Bennani (Citroën C-Elysée WTCC)
7. Tom Chilton (Citroën C-Elysée WTCC)
12. Grégoire Demoustier (Citroën C-Elysée WTCC)
Fastest lap: José-María López (2m06.669s)
WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP: DRIVER STANDINGS
1. Tiago Monteiro: 77 points
2. José-María López: 76 pts
3. Norbert Michelisz: 52 pts
4. Rob Huff: 49 pts
5. Mehdi Bennani: 48 pts
6. #yvanmuller: 36 pts
10. Tom Chilton: 12 pts
WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP: MANUFACTURER STANDINGS
1. Honda: 167 points
2. Citroën: 164 pts
3. Lada: 89 pts
4. Polestar: 30 pts
WTCC2016002169
1620x1080, 506KB
WTCC2016002163
1620x1080, 502KB
WTCC2016002154
1620x1080, 459KB
WTCC2016002148
1620x1080, 434KB
WTCC2016002150
1620x1080, 402KB
WTCC2016002145
1620x1080, 392KB
WTCC2016002156
1620x1080, 360KB
WTCC2016002171
1620x1080, 332KB
WTCC2016002141
1620x1080, 301KB
Related news |
||
|
|
|
june 12, 2023
|
march 20, 2023
|
november 14, 2022
|
|
TOYOTA GAZOO Racing’s winning streak at the Le Mans 24 Hours came to a valiant end after an epic day-long battle for an historic v... |
The GR010 HYBRID #7 of #mikeconway, #kamuikobayashi and #josemarialopez bounced back from a practice accident on Thursday to take ... |
TOYOTA GAZOO #racing earned a dominant one-two victory in the season-ending 8 Hours of Bahrain to secure a clean sweep of FIA Worl... |
Download all 
You might be interested in |
||
|
|
|
june 04, 2021
|
may 09, 2017
|
february 02, 2017
|
|
2021 WEC ROUND 2 8 HOURS OF #portimao: PREVIEWTOYOTA HITS WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP CENTURY AT PORTIMAO2021.06.04（Fri）TOYOTA GAZOO #racin... |
DS Virgin #racing head to the #monaco ePrix with high expectations following a podium finish in Mexico City.A thrilling race in M... |
Toyota City, Japan, February 2, 2017―Toyota Motor Corporation today announces its Toyota GAZOO #racing motorsports activities for ... |
Italian 
Download all 
Share
Share via mail 
Automotive
Sport
Events
Art&Culture
Design
Fashion&Beauty
Food&Hospitality
Technology
Nautica
Racing
Excellence
Corporate
OffBeat
Green
Gift
Pop
Heritage
Entertainment
Health & Wellness