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Shanghai, Qual.: López beats local hero Ma for the pole position

Muller had to settle in third position

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Ma Qing Hua had posted an outstanding lap time of 1:48.898 during his Q3 shot at his home racetrack.

And yet, this was not enough to prevent his team-mate and current championship leader José María López from adding another pole position (the fifth so far) to the impressive tally of his first complete season in WTCC.

The Argentine staked a claim on the pole with a spectacular split time in the first sector (41.868) that gave him a three-tenth margin over Ma. And despite a disappointing second sector that cost him the whole advantage, López was able to sprint in the third sector, completing the lap in 1:48.782. The first sector was also crucial for Yvan Muller, who ruined his chances of challenging López and Ma for the pole.

This result meant that Citroën is now only two points away from securing the Manufacturers’ title, although Norbert Michelisz did his best to spoil the French manufacturer’s party and qualified in fourth, ahead of Sébastien Loeb and best of the Honda cars.

Q1 – The track was dry in spite of a shower that fell a few minutes before the start.
The Citroën cars dominated the first part of the session, filling the first four positions. After brief spells on top from Tom Chilton (1:50.749) and Norbert Michelisz (1:50.312), Ma Qing Hua posted the fastest time for good (1:49.313).

His team-mates improved to rank immediately behind him: Yvan Muller in second (1:49.514), José María López in third (1:49.546) and Sébastien Loeb in fourth (1:49.875).

None of the other drivers was able to break the 1:50 mark. Chilton was the best of the Chevrolet men in fifth (1:50.229) ahead of Gabriele Tarquini’s Honda (1:50.226).

After the winning weekend in Beijing last week, the LADA Sport team was disappointed by seeing all his three drivers missing the cut for Q2.

The following drivers advanced to Q2: Ma, Muller, López, Loeb, Chilton, Tarquini, Michelisz, Monteiro, Coronel, Bennani, Borković and Valente. Franz Engstler set the pole in the TC2T class.

Q2 – A light rain was reported on the first sector when the drivers returned to the track. The Citroën quartet settled the matter on their first lap: Muller (1:49.299), López (1:49.418), Ma (1:49.436) and Loeb (1:49.579). Only Michelisz was capable of setting a lap time close to theirs: a 1:49.848 that placed him in fifth position.

A final attempt of the four Honda drivers to play the slipstreaming game came to nothing. Monteiro and Tarquini remained in sixth and seventh, out of Q3.

Mehdi Bennani won pole position on the top-ten reverse grid for the second race.

Q3 – Michelisz was the first on the track and posted a brilliant 1:49.681. Loeb followed, but the nine-time WRC champion spoiled his chances by hitting the stack of tyres at the apex of the final turn. The Ma broke the 1:49 barrier and posted an outstanding 1:48.898. López did even better and improved to 1:48.782, while Muller had to settle in third position with a lap of 1:49.424.

Pos. Driver Car Q1 time Q2 time Q3 time
1 José Maria LOPEZ Citroen C-Elysee WTCC 1:49.546 1:49.418 1:48.782
2 Qing Hua MA Citroen C-Elysee WTCC 1:49.313 1:49.436 1:48.898
3 Yvan MULLER Citroen C-Elysee WTCC 1:49.514 1:49.299 1:49.424
4 Norbert MICHELISZ Honda Civic WTCC 1:50.312 1:49.848 1:49.681
5 Sébastien LOEB Citroen C-Elysee WTCC 1:49.875 1:49.579 1:49.830
---------- -------- -------- -------- ---------
6 Tiago MONTEIRO Honda Civic WTCC 1:50.657 1:50.178
7 Gabriele TARQUINI Honda Civic WTCC 1:50.266 1:50.229
8 Tom CHILTON Chevrolet RML Cruze TC1 1:50.229 1:50.351
9 Hugo VALENTE Chevrolet RML Cruze TC1 1:51.300 1:50.406
10 Mehdi BENNANI Honda Civic WTCC 1:50.782 1:50.528
11 Tom CORONEL Chevrolet RML Cruze TC1 1:50.694 1:50.548
12 Dusan BORKOVIC Chevrolet RML Cruze TC1 1:50.867 1:51.665
---------- -------- -------- -------- ---------
13 Gianni MORBIDELLI Chevrolet RML Cruze TC1 1:51.655
14 James THOMPSON LADA Granta 1.6T 1:51.662
15 Rob HUFF LADA Granta 1.6T 1:51.781
16 Mikhail KOZLOVSKIY LADA Granta 1.6T 1:51.953
17 René MUNNICH Chevrolet RML Cruze TC1 1:52.393
18 Franz ENGSTLER BMW E90 320 TC 1:55.315
19 John FILIPPI Seat Leon WTCC 1:56.753
20 Williams LOK Seat Leon WTCC 1:58.664
21 Filipe DE SOUZA BMW E90 320 TC 1:58.719

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«Shanghai, FP2: Ma Qing Hua is half-a-second ahead of the field

Mikkelsen thanks Fløene for podium form»

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