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Marrakech, Race 1: Lopez leads a Citroën trio!

Tom Chilton finished fourth

By Franck Drui

13 April 2014 - 18:10
Marrakech, Race 1: Lopez leads a (…)

José María López took a triumphal victory for the Citroën Total WTCC team.

The Argentine crossed the line first ahead of team-mates Sébastien Loeb and Yvan Muller. The three C-Elisée cars led from lights to flag, creating a huge gap between them and the rest of the field.

Tom Chilton finished fourth, but only eight seconds behind; the Briton was followed by Borković, Monteiro and local hero Bennani.

Franz Engstler dominated the TC2T class from his team-mate Di Sabatino.

Key moments
 Start – López takes perfect start ahead of Loeb, Muller, Chilton, Monteiro and Borković. Münnich cuts chicane and is penalized with a drive-through for jumping the start.
 Lap 2 – Valente touches Bennani in turn 15 right ahead of Coronel. The Honda loses the rear bumper in the incident
 Lap 4 – Borković attacks Monteiro at the braking of turn 15; in the contact Monteiro loses the rear bumber and fifth position.
 Lap 5- The advantage of the Citroën trio reaches 7 seconds, with Loeb closing the gap on the leader, López.
 Lap 6 – Huff in the pits (misfiring), Morbidelli passes Kozlovskiy for 12th. Loeb posts best lap time.
 Lap 8 – Engstler leads comfortably in TC2T, ten seconds clear of Di Sabatino, with Filippi third.
 Lap 9 – Coronel (front splitter) and Morbidelli (bodywork) in the pits.
 Lap 11 – Valente jumps on the kerbs of the first chicane and loses a front dive plain.
 Lap 12 – Münnich in the pits (bent steering).
 Lap 13 – Bennani passes Michelisz for 7th in turn 5 and so does also Valente shortly after.
 Lap 14 – Triple win for the Citroëns with López, Loeb and Müller in their WTCC debut.

Pos. Driver Car Time
1 José Maria LOPEZ Citroen C-Elysee WTCC 14 laps - 24m40.950
2 Sébastien LOEB Citroen C-Elysee WTCC +0.713
3 Yvan MULLER Citroen C-Elysee WTCC +1.607
4 Tom CHILTON Chevrolet RML Cruze TC1 +8.222
5 Dusan BORKOVIC Chevrolet RML Cruze TC1 +11.849
6 Tiago MONTEIRO Honda Civic WTCC +20.495
7 Mehdi BENNANI Honda Civic WTCC +25.111
8 Hugo VALENTE Chevrolet RML Cruze TC1 +29.953
9 Norbert MICHELISZ Honda Civic WTCC +44.583
10 James THOMPSON LADA Granta 1.6T +48.596
11 Mikhail KOZLOVSKIY LADA Granta 1.6T +1m03.873
12 Franz ENGSTLER BMW E90 320 TC +1m14.163
13 Pasquale DI SABATINO BMW E90 320 TC +1m37.538
14 John FILIPPI SEAT Leon WTCC +1m41.171
15 Gianni MORBIDELLI Chevrolet RML Cruze TC1 +2 laps
16 René MUNNICH Chevrolet RML Cruze TC1 DNF
17 Tom CORONEL Chevrolet RML Cruze TC1 DNF
18 Rob HUFF LADA Granta 1.6T DNF
19 Peter FULIN SEAT Leon WTCC DNS
20 Gabriele TARQUINI Honda Civic WTCC DNS

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