Q&A with Jose Maria Lopez

José María López made it three FIA World Touring Car Championship titles* on the bounce with second place in the Main Race at WTCC JVCKENWOOD Race of Japan today. The Citroën-driving Argentine talks about his latest triumph.

What were your thoughts when you crossed the line?

“I don’t know with the heat and everything. When I saw the flag and heard my engineer on the radio I got a bit emotional because this is something special. Sometimes from the outside it seems you just go in the car but it’s really hard work and there are a lot of people behind this result.”

How are you feeling right now?

“I am probably one of the happiest people in the world right now. As I have said before, sometimes behind the cameras people see a hard and cold man but you know we all are human beings and there are a lot of things and a lot of emotion behind a world championship. You don’t win a championship easy, you don’t win a race easily. It’s been a fantastic three years for me. Any driver in the world would like to achieve this. I’ve been lucky enough to be in the best team in the world with great team-mates, a great family, a great girlfriend, great everything. Everything came together these last three years and I have only to say thank you to everybody. It’s not only me, it’s a lot of things. The WTCC that gave me the opportunity as well but mostly the team, I wouldn’t be here without Citroën today and my team-mates so thank you to them.”

For most of the Main Race it looked as though you were on course for your eighth win of the season then we saw you let your team-mate Yvan Muller take the victory. Was that a gesture from you?

“It was not an easy decision, it’s not easy for me to give up a win because I know they are fighting in the championship and I don’t really want to get involved. It was more a gesture to Yvan and I hope he doesn’t take it the wrong way, that’s why it was difficult to take the decision. I was thinking maybe it was disrespectful, maybe he thinks that but what I was thinking and why I did it, he knows but to show my respect for him because he’s a great champion, a great team-mate, we had a fair fight over three years, I think it’s what I felt. I never did something like this. It was hard, I wanted to win, I wanted to hear my national song on the podium but it doesn’t change anything for me. I don’t know how many times I will have the opportunity to say thank you to him like this. I think more than an award, I think this is more important. As a racing driver he knows how difficult it is to give up a victory so that’s a way just to thank you Yvan, you are still the greatest in WTCC and I think he will keep many years like this as well. There was nothing more than this.”

You could have won the championship in the Opening Race, you had a great fight through. Could you talk us through the first race because it was probably a more exciting race?

“It was a really hard race, hard for the cars, hard for the drivers. I didn’t really get a good start but then I had to go through the field. You lose a lot of downforce behind the other cars but my car was very good, especially after mid-race and I could find a way back to a good place and also, especially I was trying to come back to Tiago a little bit, to have the possibility. It was a great fight as always, some contacts, I was a bit lucky to finish in the end. I had a big shunt from Catsburg in the rear, I was a bit lucky there but it came okay. I would like to say the Opening Race is a war for us. You get hit from everywhere but it’s a fun race obviously.”

What will be your mood for the last two races because you are already champion and at the same time you will start a new championship?

“It won’t be different to the last years, I like what I do, I like to fight, I like to win. Mainly of course the next race to get the constructors’ championship, that is the main objective for us and, if I can, I will try to help Yvan get the second place in the championship as well.”