Thailand, FP1: López leads the way
He was suffering from an inner ear problem
José María López emerged quickest from Free Practice 1 for the inaugural WTCC Race of Thailand.
Top Yokohama Drivers’ Trophy contender Mehdi Bennani was second fastest, 0.299s slower, with Sébastien Loeb completing a Citroën top-three in third. Norbert Michelisz and Gabriele Tarquini were fourth and fourth for Honda respectively with Nicky Catsburg the fastest of the LADA drivers in sixth.
López revealed earlier that he was suffering from an inner ear problem although it didn’t slow the world champion elect.
Tiago Monteiro, Hugo Valente, Ma Qing Hua and Rob Huff completed the top 10 in Free Practice 1, which was stopped two minutes ahead of schedule after Nicolas Lapierre slid into the gravel at Turn 3, where his LADA ended up in the tyre barrier.
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