Nordschleife, FP2: López shows his class with Free Practice 2 best

José María López underlined his status as one of the best touring car drivers on the planet after he went fastest in Free Practice 2 for WTCC Race of Germany. But it was close with 1.4 seconds covering the top four over the 25-kilometre lap.

The Argentine lapped the legendary Nürburgring Nordschleife in a fastest time of 8m39.441s in his Citroën C-Elysée WTCC with Hugo Valente (Chevrolet RML Cruze TC1) just 0.895s behind. Sébastien Loeb was third quickest with Yvan Muller and China’s Ma Qing Hua next up in their Citroëns.

“I try to be as quick as I can,” said López, the defending WTCC champion. “But the time when everything is true will be qualifying although I am very confident in the car and consistently on the top. But I can’t relax – I try to improve more.”

While Free Practice 1 took place in damp conditions, the track was virtually dry for the second 60-minute session. “Off the line it was slippery but on the line there was good grip,” López explained. “The temperature is a bit cooler today so the engines run better.”

Gabriele Tarquini was the top Honda runner in sixth with LADA’s Rob Huff seventh and new team-mate Jaap van Lagen eighth. Mehdi Bennani was ninth with WTCC Race of Hungary winner Norbert Michelisz completing the top 10 in his Honda.

A splitter issue limited Tom Coronel’s track time, the Dutchman unable to set a competitive time. The 60-minute Qualifying session begins at 18h20 local time.