Citroën’s José María López has hailed his ‘sporting’ World Touring Car Championship competitors in the weekend’s races at Spa-Francorchamps, after the championship leader came from eighth on the grid to win in race two.
López took his fifth win of the season in race two in Belgium and his Citroën Racing team scored only their second 1-2-3 finish of the year in race one, where the Argentine finished second.
Despite losing being beaten to the win in the first race of the weekend to rival and team-mate Yvan Muller, López still holds a 39 point advantage over Muller at the end of the European leg of the season. With 25 points on offer for a victory, the 31-year-old’s advantage is looking healthier than ever.
“I couldn’t relax for a second in the first race,” said López, who passed team-mate Sébastien Loeb for second on the final lap of the race. “Sébastien was really quick in the second and third sectors and my tyres were wearing fast. I put everything into the last lap, and fortunately it worked. That second place was important for me, but the most memorable part was the 1-2-3 for the team!”
In race two López admits he was involved in several close battles on his way through the field, and with his Citroën C-Elysée having a performance advantage over his competitors he credited them for not fighting too hard in their defence.
“In race 2, I was involved in a real scrap with Valente over the first few corners,” added López. “We touched, but the car was OK, and I realised I was quicker than the others. I did a lot of overtaking at the Bus Stop, and I must say that all my competitors were very sporting.
“It’s an incredible win for me! Even though Yvan has closed the gap by two points, it’s still been a good weekend for me as far as the overall standings are concerned. But I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: despite the gap, I’m definitely not home and dry yet.”
Citroën Racing Team Principal Yves Matton says he is proud of the team’s performance at the weekend, despite some issues with the windscreens on the team’s C-Elysée’s bowing due to the high-speed nature of the circuit.
“As a Belgian, seeing my team produce results like that at Spa-Francorchamps is obviously a great feeling,” said Matton. “I think that we can be proud of the way we won the races today.
“The Raidillon poses a unique challenge, which has seen us come up against some technical issues that we hadn’t encountered before. The team put in some excellent work on the car to reduce those issues, and our drivers did the rest by harnessing all the potential of the Citroën C-Elysée WTCC.
“We couldn’t have hoped for a better result to round off the European season. We’ve got a long break now, but we can’t wait to continue our excellent season around the world.”