Motegi WTCC: Lopez takes pole, leads Citroen 1-2-3

After setting the best time in both the segments of qualifying, dipping in the 1m55s in Q2, the Argentinian topped each sector in the one-lap shootout to secure pole.

Thus, Lopez added another five points to his championship tally with the quickest time of 1m55.602s, just six-thousandths of a second off of Norbert Michelisz’s lap record from last year.

Yvan Muller was his closest rival, eight-tenths of a second behind in the sister Citroen, with Mehdi Bennani third in the Sebastien Loeb Racing Citroen , picking up an extra point in the independents’ battle against teammate Tom Chilton, who qualified in fifth.

Mixing it up with the Citroens in the top five shootout was Honda’s Monteiro, who qualified in fourth position in the Civic, while teammates Rob Huff and Michelisz aborted their final runs in the last part of Q2 in order to take advantage of the reverse grid.

Michelisz finishing tenth and Huff ninth, meaning that Michelisz will start on pole for the reversed grid opening race ahead of Huff, with Thed Bjork starting behind them in the Polestar Volvo.

After setting the fastest times in both practice sessions, there was disappointment for the other Volvo of Nestor Girolami , when a late improvement from the independent Citroen of Chilton knocked him of the top five and out of the pole position shootout, with the Argentine having to settle for sixth.

Nicky Catsburg was the best-placed of the Ladas in seventh, after a flawed strategy call by the team saw them leave Hugo Valente and Gabriele Tarquini in the pits to save tyres, but due to a flurry of late improvements, both drivers quickly toppled out of the top 12.

Honda newcomer Ryo Michigami will start 15th on his WTCC debut, while Tom Coronel was unable to set a competitive time shaking down his newly installed engine, and will start both races from 19th in his ROAL Motorsport Chevrolet Cruze.

Neil Hudson / TouringCarTimes