POLE POSITION FOR PECHITO AND MAC3 WIN FOR CITROËN
Despite the 80kg of ballast the two-time World Championship-winning Citroën C-Elysée WTCCs were obliged to carry, José María López claimed pole position, while Yvan Muller qualified in third place. Supported by Mehdi Bennani, Pechito and Yvan also earned victory for Citroën in motorsport’s first ever against-the-clock challenge!
The Citroën C-Elysée WTCCs had showed what they were capable with in Free Practice 1 on Friday. On a soaking wet track at the Paul Ricard Circuit, José María López and Yvan Muller clocked the two fastest times.
The two other practice sessions, which took place in completely dry conditions on Saturday morning, saw the team continue their progress in the build-up to qualifying. The challenge for the engineers was to minimise the impact of the 80kg compensation weight, which is particularly punishing during braking, as well as affecting the car’s balance on turns and the wear of its tyres.
In the early afternoon, Yvan and Pechito took to the track for Q1 with the simple aim of making it into the top twelve. That mission was accomplished, with López setting the fastest time and Muller the third-best. In Q2, a tougher task awaited, with only the top five going through to the next phase. This time, it was Yvan who came out on top, with Pechito in second spot.
In Q3, José María López got quicker and quicker throughout his flying lap, reaching the chequered flag in 1m28.950s. Despite an excellent first sector, Yvan Muller lost out by just 0.2s, allowing the Argentine to clinch the 15th pole position of his FIA WTCC career and thus to beat the record he himself set in 2015.
After a short break, the two Citroën drivers prepared for MAC3, the new team against-the-clock competition in which the most successful teams are rewarded with points in the Manufacturers’ World Championship. They were joined by Mehdi Bennani, the man chosen by Yves Matton to complete the team’s three-car contingent.
Sticking to the strategy agreed beforehand, Yvan Muller and Mehdi Bennani stuck closely to José María López’s tail. By the time the third Citroën C-Elysée WTCC crossed the finish line after two laps, the team had clocked the fastest time by just three hundredths of a second!
Tomorrow, the first two races of the season will follow a new format. Yvan Muller and José María López will start from 8th and 10th positions on the grid in the opening race at 12.15 p.m., before lining up in their qualifying positions for the main race at 5.15 p.m.
WHAT THEY HAD TO SAYYves Matton (Team Principal, Citroën Racing): “Winning pole position was our main objective today. With the ballast, we were far from certain to achieve it… But the top-class work of our team and the talent of our drivers enabled us to live up to our billing. As a result, we hadn’t devoted a lot of time or energy to preparing for MAC3. Our strategy was simple: the fastest driver from qualifying should lead the way, with the second and third fastest behind him. Congratulations to Pechito, Yvan and Mehdi for putting Citroën atop the World Championship!”
José María López (Citroën C-Elysée WTCC No. 37): “First of all, I want to thank and pay tribute to the Citroën Racing team. It’s incredible that we managed to cope with an 80kg handicap. After missing out on pole position here in 2014 and 2015, I was expecting it to be difficult to achieve this year too. My first sector in Q3 wasn’t brilliant, but I won it on the Signes curve and the “Double-droite du Beausset”. Every pole position is important, but this one was really special. I really had to attack hard to win it.”
Yvan Muller (Citroën C-Elysée WTCC No. 68): “I got a good time in Q2 and maybe I relied too heavily on that in Q3. My first sector was good. I oversteered a little at the Beausset but that isn’t where I lost two tenths on José. Overall, the car worked really well. We’re going to analyse the data to try and understand where I wasn’t quite so quick. In any case, it’s a great overall result for the team.”
RESULTS AND STANDINGSQUALIFYING1. José María López (Citroën C-Elysée WTCC) 1m29.345s2. Tiago Monteiro (Honda Civic WTCC) 1m29.766s3. Yvan Muller (Citroën C-Elysée WTCC) 1m29.765s4. Tom Coronel (Chevrolet RML Cruze TC1) 1m29.991s5. Nick Catsburg (Lada Vesta WTCC)8. Mehdi Bennani (Citroën C-Elysée WTCC)13. Tom Chilton (Citroën C-Elysée WTCC)14. Grégoire Demoustier (Citroën C-Elysée WTCC)
MAC31. Citroën 3m07.145s2. Lada +0.030s3. Honda +2.453s
