López on top in Nürburgring Nordschleife WTCC testing

José María López continued where he left off in the official pre-event test for WTCC Race of Germany last month by setting the pace in the hour-long test session at the Nürburgring Nordschleife this morning.

Despite an engine misfire spoiling what could have been an even quicker run, the Argentine ended the session on top in his Citroën C-Elysée WTCCC with a best effort of 8m41.192s over the 25.378-kilometre lap. “It was a small misfire but they changed the spark plugs and there were no more problems,” said a Citroën team spokesperson.

And in more encouraging news for the French make, Sébastien Loeb was second fastest in 8m41.980s, a mere 0.787s slower than López, with Yvan Muller making it a Citroën top-three lockout with a 8m42.395s.

Hugo Valente continued his impressive run of form with the fourth-best lap in his Campos Racing Chevrolet, ended the test as the leading Yokohama Drivers’ Trophy contender with Gabriele Tarquini the leading Honda driver in fifth. Team-mate Tiago Monteiro was sixth after losing time early in the session with a front-left puncture. Jaap van Lagen was ninth quickest on his return to the WTCC with the factory LADA squad.

Fast female Sabine Schmitz was 17th quickest after a vibration issued hampered her progress and limited her to two timed laps. Thursday’s test session was in preparation for Free Practice 1, which is scheduled to get underway at 08h15 local time on Friday.