Shanghai WTCC: Muller takes fifth win as Lopez moves closer to the title
Yvan Muller completed the celebrations for Citroen Racing in Shanghai, winning the second race of the day as Honda’s Gabriele Tarquini and reigning champion Jose Maria Lopez completed the podium after an intense battle.
Yvan Muller, Citroën C-Elysee WTCC, Citroën World Touring Car team
Citroën Communication
The Lada and Honda mechanics made the most of the repair time during the first race to get Rob Huff’s Vesta and Tarquini’s Civic back on the grid after their damage in Race 1.
At the green light, Campos Chevrolet driver Hugo Valente got off the line well from pole position, but Tarquini's start was even better, getting alongside the Frenchman and taking the lead into Turn 1.
Valente managed to get back ahead in Turn 2, but was then hit by the Italian. The Campos Racing driver slid and spun with broken left-rear suspension, which forced him to retire.
Tarquini, meanwhile, started to build a lead, with the Citroens' taking advantage of the opening-lap incidents to climb up in the classification. Muller was now up to second place, followed by Lopez and Sebastien Loeb.
Huff was running in fifth position with the repaired Vesta WTCC, and kept a good pace, while team-mate Nicky Catsburg headed back into the pits to retire at the end of the first lap.
Tarquini at one point had established a 2.5s lead, but at half distance, Muller started gaining on the Honda driver, passing him for the lead on lap nine.
The Frenchman then began to pull away, leaving Tarquini to defend second against Lopez.
With three laps to go, Citroen Racing reported a problem in one of Loeb’s tyres, while Stefano D’Aste, who was running in eighth position and second in the Yokohama Trophy, had a puncture and was forced to retire.
The last laps were spiced up by a fierce battle between Tarquini and Lopez. The Honda driver managed to defend the position in a drag race between himself and Lopez at the line, securing second by just 0.025s, with Muller going on to take his fifth win of the season.
Loeb finished fourth, with Huff claiming fifth position for Lada. The Honda of Tiago Monteiro was sixth, followed by Sebastien Loeb Racing Citroen driver Mehdi Bennani, winner in the Yokohama Trophy.
Citroen's Ma Qing Hua, Lada's Nicolas Lapierre and Campos Chevrolet's John Filippi rounded out the the top 10.
Muller was smiling again after getting back to the top spot of the podium: “Fantastic result, especially after the beginning of the weekend.
"I wasn’t clear on qualifying, but the guys gave me a great car. I was hoping for an opportunity to overtake, so it was good to win in the end."
Lopez's lead is reduced slightly after race one, but the Argentinian still maintains a 75 point lead with just 110 points to be had from the last four races.
The next round of the WTCC takes place in Thailand on the 1st of November.
Tamara Aller / TouringCarTimes
Pos. | Driver | Car | Time/Delay |
1 | Yvan Muller | Citroen | 26'36.942 |
2 | Gabriele Tarquini | Honda | 2.659 |
3 | Jose Maria Lopez | Citroen | 2.684 |
4 | Sebastien Loeb | Citroen | 6.079 |
5 | Rob Huff | Lada | 8.366 |
6 | Tiago Monteiro | Honda | 11.224 |
7 | Mehdi Bennani | Citroen | 14.339 |
8 | Ma Qing Hua | Citroen | 15.378 |
9 | Nicolas Lapierre | Lada | 24.968 |
10 | John Filippi | Chevrolet | 27.357 |
11 | Norbert Michelisz | Honda | 28.270 |
12 | Gregoire Demoustier | Chevrolet | 28.654 |
13 | Stefano D'Aste | Chevrolet | 3 Laps |
Ret | Nicky Catsburg | Lada | |
Ret | Hugo Valente | Chevrolet |
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