Shanghai poleman José María López says that he feels ‘the pressure mounting’ as the World Touring Car Championship (WTCC) season approaches its conclusion, whilst nearest rival Yvan Muller concedes that he is already ‘looking to 2015’.
López has a comfortable lead in the championship over rival and team-mate Muller but still says that he feels pressure at each event. On Saturday in China, the Citroën driver took pole from team-mate Ma Qing Hua by 0.116 seconds, and admits that he did not expect to beat the Chinese driver in qualifying.
“I wasn’t particularly confident before Q3, because I hadn’t been able to improve between Q1 and Q2,” said López. “We made a few changes to the set-up, but I still thought that it would be difficult to beat Ma Qing Hua. I had to beat my personal best by six tenths! In the end, we made the right calls and I managed to put in a perfect lap.
“As I crossed the finishing line, I knew that I had a chance of taking pole position. It’s an excellent result for the team and for me. Little by little, we are getting closer to the end of the season and I can feel the pressure mounting. But that’s the way it is when you are fighting to win a Championship!”
López’s fifth pole of the season means that his lead in the championship has been extended to 68 points over Yvan Muller, who qualified in third.
Reigning champion Muller conceded that he now feels that his championship defence is over, such is his points deficit to López.
“My lap in Q3 was good, I didn’t make any mistakes, but I just wasn’t quick enough,” explained Muller, who was six tenths slower than his rival. “We’ll have to look at the data acquisition to understand where I lost time. In any case, I did my best.
“Tomorrow should be a big day for the team, because we should win the Manufacturers’ title. As far as I’m concerned, I’m thinking mainly about 2015!”
Saturday’s qualifying session marked the first time this season that all four C-Elysée’s made it through to Q2, with Ma putting in his best qualifying session to-date.
“The whole team has done a fantastic job since the start of the weekend,” said Ma, now racing in his fourth WTCC event. “As I’m not doing a full season, I have to try even harder to get to the same level as my rivals.
“We have made a lot of progress, to the extent where I set the fastest time in free practice. And then I managed to make it through to Q3 for the first time. I opted for a fairly safe approach for this final attempt. I put in a good lap, but I could have gone a little bit faster.”
Sébastien Loeb completed the Citroën quarted, putting his car fifth on the grid behind the Honda of Norbert Michelisz.