Marrakech, Race 1: Lopez leads a Citroën trio!
Tom Chilton finished fourth
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.
WTCR
- The race of Marrakech is cancelled, replaced by Salzburg
- Malaysia, Race 3: Kristoffersson takes victory as Michelisz claims title
- Malaysia, Race 2: Guerrieri wins to set-up final-round title decider with Michelisz
- Malaysia, Race 1: Michelisz triumph to extend points lead
- New tracks plus weight rule tweak as WTCR revs up for next three seasons