Yvan Muller has given home fans plenty of reason to cheer by posting the fastest time in Free Practice 1 for JVC KENWOOD WTCC Race of France this morning.
The four-time winner of the FIA World Touring Car Championship lapped 3.841-kilometre Circuit Paul Ricard in 1m30.950 to edge Citroën team-mate and defending world champion José María López by 0.209s.
“We learn many things even if the session was only 30 minutes long,” said Muller. “Yesterday we were not happy with the car, we resolve some of the problems of yesterday but we still have another step to do. At the moment the heat is okay but it’s only Free Practice. Qualifying will be another story because it’s later in the afternoon and it will be much warmer. We change many things with the car, some small details to the suspension but I cannot say what.”
Tiago Monteiro was third quickest for Honda with Sébastien Loeb fourth for Citroën with Gabriele Tarquini fifth and Grégoire Demoustier (Chevrolet Cruze) impressing as the top Yokohama Drivers’ Trophy contender in sixth. Ma Qing Hua was seventh with Nicky Catsburg the top LADA runner in eighth. Norbert Michelisz and Hugo Valente rounded out the top 10.
| Pos. | Driver | Team | Car | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Yvan Muller | Citroen Total WTCC | Citroen | 1:30.950 |
| 2 | Jose Maria Lopez | Citroen Total WTCC | Citroen | 1:31.159 |
| 3 | Tiago Monteiro | Honda Racing Team JAS | Honda | 1:31.187 |
| 4 | Sebastien Loeb | Citroen Total WTCC | Citroen | 1:31.252 |
| 5 | Gabriele Tarquini | Honda Racing Team JAS | Honda | 1:31.258 |
| 6 | Grégoire Demoustier | Craft-Bamboo Racing | Chevrolet | 1:31.348 |
| 7 | Ma Qing Hua | Citroen Total WTCC | Citroen | 1:31.441 |
| 8 | Nicky Catsburg | LADA Sport Rosneft | Lada | 1:31.516 |
| 9 | Norbert Michelisz | Zengo Motorsport | Honda | 1:31.689 |
| 10 | Hugo Valente | Campos Racing | Chevrolet | 1:31.690 |
| 11 | Stefano D’Aste | Munnich Motorsport | Chevrolet | 1:31.698 |
| 12 | Jaap Van Lagen | LADA Sport Rosneft | Lada | 1:31.762 |
| 13 | Tom Chilton | ROAL Motorsport | Chevrolet | 1:31.841 |
| 14 | Robert Huff | LADA Sport Rosneft | Lada | 1:31.973 |
| 15 | Rickard Rydell | Nika International | Honda | 1:32.251 |
| 16 | Mehdi Bennani | Sebastien Loeb Racing | Citroen | 1:32.318 |
| 17 | Tom Coronel | ROAL Motorsport | Chevrolet | 1:32.409 |
| 18 | John Filippi | Campos Racing | Chevrolet | 1:33.012 |