Argentina, Race 2: Lopez wins on WTCC debut, Muller penalised

History was made at Termas de Río Hondo when the BMW 320 TC of local hero José Maria ‘Pechito’ López crossed the finish line to record the first-ever victory by a driver on his first appearance with FIA touring cars.

López, driving for the Wiechers-Sport team, started from pole position and never looked threatened; his victory was a popular one as the Argentine driver also won in ever WTCC event held in his home country.

Gabriele Tarquini finished second in the Castrol Honda team Civic, while Pepe Oriola finishing in third place in the Tuenati Racing Chevrolet meant there were three different manufacturers
represented on the podium. Honda also had two other reasons to celebrate: Norbert Michelisz and Tiago Monteiro finished fourth and fifth respectively after a close fight between the pair right until the end of the race.

Any thoughts Yvan Muller had of a repeating his Race 1 victory evaporated on Lap 5 when there was contact between his Chevrolet and the Civic of Monteiro while the pair battled for second place. The resulting drive-through penalty saw Muller eventually finish the race in 13th place and out of the points. There was also contact between Hugo Valente’s SEAT León and the BMW of Darryl O’Young on Lap 9 that was referred to the Stewards for investigation.

Key moments

— Start – López sprints to the lead, while Monteiro moves up 2nd
— Lap 1 – Thompson passes Chilton for 10th
— Lap 2 – Muller passes Nash for 5th; Tarquini runs wide involving Nykjær; Muller and Nash benefits from the situation and climb to 3rd and 4th
— Lap 3 – Nykjær and Nash make contact; Tarquini passes both of them for 4th
— Lap 4 – Muller attacks Monteiro, but fails to pass
— Lap 5 – Contact between Muller and Monteiro at Turn 5; Monteiro spins and Muller takes 2nd place
— Lap 5 – Huff and Michelisz pass Thompson; Huff and Thompson make contact
— Lap 6 – Coronel and Basseng make contact; Muller is given a drive-through
— Lap 6 – Michelisz passes Nash for 6th
— Lap 7 – Monteiro passes Nash for 7th
— Lap 8 – Valente and O’Young make contact
— Lap 10 – Thompson slows down and retires
— Lap 11 – López wins; Tarquini keeps Oriola at bay for 2nd

Quotes from the podium finishers

‘Pechito’ Lopez - winner

“I was happy but nervous to be starting from P1 – I knew it was going to be difficult. I knew I had to do my best but when I set the time in warm-up I knew that I also had a good car for a fight. In the first race, I saw I had a good pace so I said okay, maybe I could win race 2. The best thing about the BMW is the start and I opened up a gap over the first few laps with new tyres, but then I saw Muller coming and I thought now I am in big trouble! Then I didn’t see Muller anymore and so that’s when I thought it was possible. I am so happy; I really didn’t expect this because I am competing with some great drivers. This is a dream come true.”

Gabriele Tarquini – 2nd

“We had some electronic problems yesterday that we tried to solve this morning. The engine was good in both races and I had a good car. It’s always difficult to fight with the Chevrolet cars because they are so fast on the straight. Fortunately, I stayed out of trouble in the first race and then I made a great start in the second. After two laps, I tried to overtake Nykjaer on the outside, but I was a little too optimistic and lost two or three positions. I came back and after the incident between Tiago and Muller I ended up in second place.”

Pepe Oriola – 3rd

“To be on the podium twice in the same weekend is really good. I’m really happy because I came to Argentina in eighth position in the Championship and for sure I have improved in the standings as a result of these two podiums. It was a really good weekend for us – Argentina has brought me some luck and I’m very happy. Maybe some of the other drivers wanted to gain a lot of positions early in the races by braking too late into the corners. I was happy to wait and see if any of them made mistakes and so I’m very happy tonight.”