FIA WTCC qualifying session postponed

FIA WTCC qualifying session initially scheduled for Saturday afternoon at the Shanghai circuit has been postponed for safety reasons.

– The battle for pole position will now take place on Sunday morning, just a few hours before the races. A busy day lies in store for the drivers and their technical teams!

– With the best time in both free practice sessions, Ma Qing Hua was the quickest man on track today.

– Citroën remains well-placed to secure a second consecutive FIA World Touring Car Championship title.

A few minutes before they were due to climb into their cars for qualifying, the FIA WTCC drivers learned that the session had been postponed for safety reasons. An accident during the GT Asia race had caused serious damage to the safety barriers and their fastenings. Since significant repair work would be necessary, the officials decided to reschedule the session for Sunday morning. Q1 will begin at 8.40 a.m. and the drivers’ positions on the starting grid should be settled 5 hours before the start of the first race.

Before the announcement was made, the Citroën C-Elysée WTCCs had taken part in two free practice sessions, with Ma Qing Hua clocking the best time on both occasions. “Everything went well today. I found a good rhythm in both sessions,” explained the man from Shanghai. “We were planning to improve a few details to challenge for pole position, but that will have to wait for tomorrow now! I think the officials took the right decision by making safety their number-1 priority. Of course, it will make our task a little more difficult. The track conditions will be different and we will have to react very quickly to adapt our setups.”

The two races will take place at 2.45 and 3.55 p.m. (GMT+8), as originally planned. To claim a second FIA World Touring Car Championship title, Citroën will have to score 58 points over the course of the day.


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