Thailand, Race 1: López wins thrilling Thai opener, takes WTCC title

Yvan Muller was eliminated in a first-lap clash

By Franck Drui

1 November 2015 - 11:05
Thailand, Race 1: López wins thrilling

José María López has won the inaugural WTCC Race of Thailand to clinch his second FIA World Touring Car Championship in succession.

López led from the start and resisted race-long pressure from Citroën team-mate Sébastien Loeb to secure his ninth victory of 2015 with Ma Qing Hua and Yokohama Drivers’ Trophy winner Mehdi Bennani completing a Citroën top four.

Gabriele Tarquini charged through from P12 on the grid to take fifth in his factory Honda ahead of LADA pilot Rob Huff, who started on the back row of the grid.

In a dramatic contest at the Chang International Circuit in Buriram, López’s title rival Yvan Muller was eliminated in a first-lap clash, which also involved several other cars and resulted in the safety car being deployed.

Pos. Driver Team Car Time
1 Jose Maria Lopez Citroen Total WTCC Citroen 16 laps
2 Sebastien Loeb Citroen Total WTCC Citroen +1.380
3 Ma Qing Hua Citroen Total WTCC Citroen +6.376
4 Mehdi Bennani Sebastien Loeb Racing Citroen +7.202
5 Gabriele Tarquini Honda Racing Team JAS Honda +14.500
6 Robert Huff LADA Sport Rosneft Lada +15.177
7 Tiago Monteiro Honda Racing Team JAS Honda +18.493
8 Stefano D’Aste Munnich Motorsport Chevrolet +21.004
9 Grégoire Demoustier Craft-Bamboo Racing Chevrolet +22.830
10 Tin Sritrai Campos Racing Chevrolet +27.416
11 Tom Chilton ROAL Motorsport Chevrolet DNF
12 John Filippi Campos Racing Chevrolet DNF
13 Yvan Muller Citroen Total WTCC Citroen DNF
14 Norbert Michelisz Zengo Motorsport Honda DNF
15 Hugo Valente Campos Racing Chevrolet DNF
16 Nicky Catsburg LADA Sport Rosneft Lada DNF
17 Nicolas Lapierre LADA Sport Rosneft Lada DNF
18 Tom Coronel ROAL Motorsport Chevrolet DNF

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