Citroën’s José María López scored a historic first win on the Nürburgring Nordschleife in race one of the World Touring Car Championship (WTCC) in Germany, as Citroën locked out the podium positions.
López led the entire race from start to finish and was unchallenged by his next best team-mate, with Sébastien Loeb forced to settle for second, 4.930 seconds adrift. Yvan Muller completed the podium in third, having benefitted from a strong start.
The most action in the race occurred at the start, with Campos Racing’s Hugo Valente getting off to the poor start which he had feared. The Frenchman plummeted from second on the grid to ninth by the end of the opening lap, having also been tapped at turn two as he tried to defend.
Valente’s race ultimately came to an end on lap two, when he lost control of his Chevrolet whilst battling with Honda’s Tiago Monteiro and slid into the barriers on the GP loop.
With Valente’s demise, Zengő Motorsport’s Norbert Michelisz was able to enjoy a relatively trouble-free run to fourth to finish as the top Honda driver.
The fourth works’ Citroën of Ma Qing Hua was fifth, ahead of the top works’ Honda of Gabriele Tarquini in sixth.
The independent Citroën entry of Sébastien Loeb Racing’s Mehdi Bennani was seventh, with the Moroccan having made up a handful of positions at the start of the race.
Completing the top ten were a trio of Chevrolets headed by Münnich Motorsport’s Stefano D’Aste in eighth, ROAL Motorsport’s Tom Chilton in ninth and Sabine Schmitz in tenth, with the German taking home a point and a record as the first female points-scorer in WTCC history.
Whilst LADAs dramas continued with Rob Huff retiring from the race before even one lap was complete, there was some positivity for the manufacturer in Jaap Van Lagen’s performances. The Dutchman, forced to start from the very back of the grid due to an engine change, overtook more drivers than anyone else in the race and finished in 11th, being unable to find a way past the Chevrolet of Schmitz despite trying for more than a lap.
French racers John Filippi and Grégoire Demoustier were the only other classified finishers, with both drivers having been dispatched with ease by Van Lagen in the race.
Honda’s Monteiro retired after two laps, with the Portuguese driver having picked up a front-left puncture as a result of contact with Valente earlier in the race.
Tom Coronel failed to finish the race, making contact with Demoustier in turn one and damaging the front-left of his car. The Dutchman immediately pitted, avoiding the Nordschleife, and had his car checked out ahead of race two where he starts on the front row of the grid.
Race result
| POS | NO | CL | DRIVER | NAT | ENTRANT | CAR | LAPS | TIME/GAP | BEST | GD |
| 1 | 37 | José María LÓPEZ |  |
Citroën Total WTCC | Citroën C-Elysée WTCC | 3 | — 3 laps — | 8:40.352 | 1 | |
| 2 | 9 | Sébastien LOEB |  |
Citroën Total WTCC | Citroën C-Elysée WTCC | 3 | 4.93 | 8:41.997 | 3 | |
| 3 | 68 | Yvan MULLER | |
Citroën Total WTCC | Citroën C-Elysée WTCC | 3 | 8.759 | 8:43.549 | 6 | |
| 4 | 5 | Y | Norbert MICHELISZ |  |
Zengő Motorsport | Honda Civic WTCC | 3 | 9.918 | 8:43.324 | 4 |
| 5 | 33 | MA Qing Hua |  |
Citroën Total WTCC | Citroën C-Elysée WTCC | 3 | 10.516 | 8:43.097 | 5 | |
| 6 | 2 | Gabriele TARQUINI |  |
Castrol Honda WTC Team | Honda Civic WTCC | 3 | 10.789 | 8:43.299 | 7 | |
| 7 | 25 | Y | Mehdi BENNANI |  |
Sébastien Loeb Racing | Citroën C-Elysée WTCC | 3 | 11.389 | 8:43.054 | 12 |
| 8 | 26 | Y | Stefano D’ASTE | |
ALL-INKL.COM Münnich Motorsport | Chevrolet RML Cruze TC1 | 3 | 12.755 | 8:42.884 | 10 |
| 9 | 3 | Y | Tom CHILTON |  |
ROAL Motorsport | Chevrolet RML Cruze TC1 | 3 | 21.91 | 8:45.247 | 9 |
| 10 | 8 | Y | Sabine SCHMITZ |  |
ALL-INKL.COM Münnich Motorsport | Chevrolet RML Cruze TC1 | 3 | 35.348 | 8:48.756 | 11 |
| 11 | 46 | Jaap VAN LAGEN |  |
LADA Sport Rosneft | LADA Vesta WTCC | 3 | 35.726 | 8:48.664 | 17 | |
| 12 | 27 | Y | John FILIPPI | |
Campos Racing | Chevrolet RML Cruze TC1 | 3 | 36.572 | 8:49.044 | 14 |
| 13 | 11 | Y | Grégoire DEMOUSTIER | |
Craft-Bamboo Racing | Chevrolet RML Cruze TC1 | 3 | 47.474 | 8:53.229 | 15 |
| R | 18 | Tiago MONTEIRO |  |
Castrol Honda WTC Team | Honda Civic WTCC | 2 | — 2 laps — | 8:52.057 | 8 | |
| R | 7 | Y | Hugo VALENTE | |
Campos Racing | Chevrolet RML Cruze TC1 | 1 | — 1 lap — | 8:51.536 | 2 |
| R | 4 | Y | Tom CORONEL | |
ROAL Motorsport | Chevrolet RML Cruze TC1 | 1 | — 1 lap — | 17:53.095 | 13 |
| R | 12 | Rob HUFF | |
LADA Sport Rosneft | LADA Vesta WTCC | 0 | — 0 laps — | No time | 16 |