Shanghai WTCC: Ma Qing Hua leads practice at home for Citroen
Citroen's Ma Qing Hua set the pace in both free practice sessions at the Shanghai International Circuit ahead of this weekend's World Touring Car Championship round
The home favourite ended the second session six tenths quicker than second place man Gregoire Demoustier's Craft-Bamboo Chevrolet with a time of 1m51.217s, after having also dominated the earlier practice session from start to finish.
Tom Chilton made a three-tenth improvement on his practice one time of 1m52.494s to end the second practice session in third place.
Chilton's ROAL team-mate Tom Coronel, though running without the updates of the sister car, ended the second session in fourth with a time of 1m52.180s.
Championship leader Jose Maria Lopez rounded off the top five with a time of 1m52.307s.
Further down the order there was confusion for the Hondas of Gabriele Tarquini and Tiago Monteiro as both drivers tumbled down the timesheet in the second of the two sessions.
They ultimately placed 11th and 16th respectively - despite a stronger showing in the earlier run when both were in the top five and Monteiro was Ma's closest rival.
PRACTICE ONE TIMES:
| Pos | Driver | Team | Car | Time | Gap | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ma Qinghua | Citroen Total WTCC | Citroen | 1m51.706s | - | 11 |
| 2 | Tiago Monteiro | Honda Racing Team JAS | Honda | 1m51.837s | 0.131s | 11 |
| 3 | Jose Maria Lopez | Citroen Total WTCC | Citroen | 1m52.042s | 0.336s | 9 |
| 4 | Gabriele Tarquini | Honda Racing Team JAS | Honda | 1m52.190s | 0.484s | 10 |
| 5 | Mehdi Bennani | Sebastien Loeb Racing | Citroen | 1m52.339s | 0.633s | 11 |
| 6 | Tom Chilton | ROAL Motorsport | Chevrolet | 1m52.494s | 0.788s | 9 |
| 7 | Norbert Michelisz | Zengo Motorsport | Honda | 1m52.562s | 0.856s | 9 |
| 8 | Rob Huff | LADA Sport Rosneft | Lada | 1m52.629s | 0.923s | 10 |
| 9 | Yvan Muller | Citroen Total WTCC | Citroen | 1m52.668s | 0.962s | 11 |
| 10 | Nicky Catsburg | LADA Sport Rosneft | Lada | 1m52.749s | 1.043s | 11 |
| 11 | Sebastien Loeb | Citroen Total WTCC | Citroen | 1m52.920s | 1.214s | 10 |
| 12 | Tom Coronel | ROAL Motorsport | Chevrolet | 1m52.941s | 1.235s | 11 |
| 13 | Hugo Valente | Campos Racing | Chevrolet | 1m52.947s | 1.241s | 9 |
| 14 | Nicolas Lapierre | LADA Sport Rosneft | Lada | 1m53.193s | 1.487s | 13 |
| 15 | Gregoire Demoustier | Craft-Bamboo Racing | Chevrolet | 1m53.656s | 1.950s | 12 |
| 16 | John Filippi | Campos Racing | Chevrolet | 1m53.907s | 2.201s | 9 |
| 17 | Stefano D'Aste | All-Inkl.com Munnich Motorsport | Chevrolet | 1m54.032s | 2.326s | 12 |
PRACTICE TWO TIMES:
| Pos | Driver | Team | Car | Time | Gap | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ma Qinghua | Citroen Total WTCC | Citroen | 1m51.217s | - | 11 |
| 2 | Gregoire Demoustier | Craft-Bamboo Racing | Chevrolet | 1m51.821s | 0.604s | 11 |
| 3 | Tom Chilton | ROAL Motorsport | Chevrolet | 1m52.113s | 0.896s | 11 |
| 4 | Tom Coronel | ROAL Motorsport | Chevrolet | 1m52.180s | 0.963s | 12 |
| 5 | Jose Maria Lopez | Citroen Total WTCC | Citroen | 1m52.307s | 1.090s | 9 |
| 6 | Hugo Valente | Campos Racing | Chevrolet | 1m52.311s | 1.094s | 9 |
| 7 | Rob Huff | LADA Sport Rosneft | Lada | 1m52.393s | 1.176s | 11 |
| 8 | Sebastien Loeb | Citroen Total WTCC | Citroen | 1m52.414s | 1.197s | 11 |
| 9 | John Filippi | Campos Racing | Chevrolet | 1m52.490s | 1.273s | 12 |
| 10 | Mehdi Bennani | Sebastien Loeb Racing | Citroen | 1m52.529s | 1.312s | 10 |
| 11 | Gabriele Tarquini | Honda Racing Team JAS | Honda | 1m52.851s | 1.634s | 9 |
| 12 | Stefano D'Aste | All-Inkl.com Munnich Motorsport | Chevrolet | 1m52.886s | 1.669s | 12 |
| 13 | Yvan Muller | Citroen Total WTCC | Citroen | 1m53.135s | 1.918s | 11 |
| 14 | Norbert Michelisz | Zengo Motorsport | Honda | 1m53.148s | 1.931s | 12 |
| 15 | Nicky Catsburg | LADA Sport Rosneft | Lada | 1m53.876s | 2.659s | 11 |
| 16 | Tiago Monteiro | Honda Racing Team JAS | Honda | 1m54.012s | 2.795s | 11 |
| 17 | Nicolas Lapierre | LADA Sport Rosneft | Lada | 1m54.147s | 2.930s | 13 |
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