Spa, Tests: López leads Muller in first test at Spa

Monteiro splits the Citroën cars

By Franck Drui

20 June 2014 - 13:29
Spa, Tests: López leads Muller in (...)

WTCC drivers had their first taste of the Spa-Francorchamps circuit in a typical Ardennes weather: a cloudy sky with some drizzle that made some parts of the track a bit slippery.

This made all competitors very cautious in order to avoid damaging their cars even before the actual action starts.

Lap times improved consistently and significantly. In the second half of the session current championship leader José María López posted a provisional fastest lap of 2:27.089 that was soon improved by Hugo Valente’s 2:26.242. However Yvan Muller soon restored Citroën’s supremacy with a lap of 2:25.292.

Eventually López regained the lead for good, stopping the clock at 2:24.574.

The Castrol Honda Racing cars of Tiago Monteiro and Gabriele Tarquini were the closest to the Citroën trio of López, Muller and Sébastien Loeb. Monteiro managed to split them by posting the third fastest lap (2:25.583), while Tarquini (2:25.940) was classified fifth behind Loeb (2:25.794).

Campos Racing’s Dušan Borković was the fastest of the drivers in the Chevrolet RML cars (2:25.954) lying in sixth, only 14 thousandths behind Tarquini. His team-mate Valente slipped down to seventh ahead of Ma Qing Hua (2:27.346), the winner of Moscow’s second race in the fourth Citroën.

Norbert Michelisz (2:27.625) and Gianni Morbidelli (2:27.656) rounded off the top ten.
James Thompson was the fastest of the LADA drivers, eleventh with a lap of 2:29.045, while Franz Engstler topped the TC2T class (2:35.511).

Pos. Driver Car Time
1 José Maria LOPEZ Citroen C-Elysee WTCC 2:24.574
2 Yvan MULLER Citroen C-Elysee WTCC 2:25.292
3 Tiago MONTEIRO Honda Civic WTCC 2:25.583
4 Sébastien LOEB Citroen C-Elysee WTCC 2:25.794
5 Gabriele TARQUINI Honda Civic WTCC 2:25.940
6 Dusan BORKOVIC Chevrolet RML Cruze TC1 2:25.954
7 Hugo VALENTE Chevrolet RML Cruze TC1 2:26.242
8 Qing Hua MA Citroen C-Elysee WTCC 2:27.346
9 Norbert MICHELISZ Honda Civic WTCC 2:27.625
10 Gianni MORBIDELLI Chevrolet RML Cruze TC1 2:27.656
11 Tom CHILTON Chevrolet RML Cruze TC1 2:27.792
12 Mehdi BENNANI Honda Civic WTCC 2:27.927
13 Tom CORONEL Chevrolet RML Cruze TC1 2:28.799
14 James THOMPSON LADA Granta 1.6T 2:29.045
15 Rob HUFF LADA Granta 1.6T 2:29.344
16 René MUNNICH Chevrolet RML Cruze TC1 2:30.565
17 Mikhail KOZLOVSKIY LADA Granta 1.6T 2:30.998
18 Franz ENGSTLER BMW E90 320 TC 2:35.511
19 Pasquale DI SABATINO BMW E90 320 TC 2:37.104
20 John FILIPPI Seat Leon WTCC 2:40.076
21 Norbert NAGY Seat Leon WTCC -:—.---

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