Slovakia Ring, Qual.: Muller returns to WTCC pole in Slovakia

Yvan Muller edged out Nicky Catsburg by 0.04 seconds in qualifying for the FIA WTCC Race of Slovakia to claim the DHL Pole Position.

A lap of 2m03.910s helped Muller to top Q3 for the first time since last year’s visit to the Slovakia Ring, and came despite a low-key start to the weekend for Citroën.

Catsburg fell only four hundredths of a second short of giving LADA its maiden pole position in the WTCC. Defending champion and points leader José María López took third, despite causing a red flag in Q1 when he went off through the gravel on his first flying lap and dropped gravel over the track.

Honda’s Norbert Michelisz was quickest in Q2 but had to make do with fourth in the final order, ahead of team-mate Rob Huff.

In Q2, Thed Björk narrowly missed out on a place in the final segment for Polestar. The Swede ended up sixth ahead of Tiago Monteiro, Mehdi Bennani and Hugo Valente, who will start on pole for the Opening Race. Tom Chilton and Fredrik Ekblom are set to share row six on the grid for both races.

John Filippi was beaten to a place in Q2 by Huff, and was joined in making an early exit by compatriot Grégoire Demoustier. On his WTCC return, James Thompson was 14th ahead of Tom Coronel, who struggled with a mechanical problem on his Chevrolet, and WTCC qualifying first-timer Ferenc Ficza.