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WTCC Qatar: Jose Maria Lopez takes pole for Citroen

World champion Jose Maria Lopez stormed to the final World Touring Car Championship pole position of 2015 at Losail, with Mehdi Bennani securing a Citroen front row lockout

Argentinian Lopez set a blistering time of 2m00.947s - the best of the weekend - in his C-Elysee to dislodge Bennani from provisional pole with the final lap of Q3.

Bennani, who was fifth-fastest in the second phase of qualifying, ended up second in his satellite C-Elysee, two-tenths ahead of the second works car of Sebastien Loeb, who took third.

Hugo Valente dragged his Campos Racing Chevrolet Cruze into the final session but lost time in the second half of the lap as he secured fourth, while Nick Catsburg - who made the shootout with a last-gasp effort in Q2 - was fifth-fastest on his sole run.

Bennani's effort keeps the fight for the Yokohama Drivers' Trophy interesting, with current leader Norbert Michelisz squeezed out of the pole position shootout by Catsburg's late effort, the Hungarian forced to settle for sixth on the race one grid.

The third and fourth works Citroens of Ma Qing Hua and Yvan Muller were a subdued seventh and eighth.

Campos Racing driver John Filippi proved there was substance to his Friday practice pace by securing a spot in Q2, with 10th place in that session handing him pole for Friday evening's final race of the season.

Both Britons were eliminated in the opening part of qualifying, with Tom Chilton and Rob Huff only able to manage 15th and 17th respectively, while WTCC newcomer Nasser Al-Attiyah rounded out the field in 18th.

RACE ONE GRID

Pos Driver Team Car Time Gap
1 Jose Maria Lopez Citroen Total WTCC Citroen 2m00.947s -
2 Mehdi Bennani Sebastien Loeb Racing Citroen 2m01.311s 0.364s
3 Sebastien Loeb Citroen Total WTCC Citroen 2m01.525s 0.578s
4 Hugo Valente Campos Racing Chevrolet 2m01.542s 0.595s
5 Nicky Catsburg LADA Sport Rosneft Lada - -
6 Norbert Michelisz Zengo Motorsport Honda 2m02.073s 1.126s
7 Ma Qinghua Citroen Total WTCC Citroen 2m02.194s 1.247s
8 Yvan Muller Citroen Total WTCC Citroen 2m02.573s 1.626s
9 Tom Coronel ROAL Motorsport Chevrolet 2m02.801s 1.854s
10 John Filippi Campos Racing Chevrolet 2m02.803s 1.856s
11 Tiago Monteiro Honda Racing Team JAS Honda 2m02.812s 1.865s
12 Nicolas Lapierre LADA Sport Rosneft Lada 2m02.877s 1.930s
13 Stefano D'Aste All-Inkl.com Munnich Motorsport Chevrolet 2m03.093s -
14 Gabriele Tarquini Honda Racing Team JAS Honda 2m03.247s -
15 Gregoire Demoustier Craft-Bamboo Racing Chevrolet 2m03.335s -
16 Tom Chilton ROAL Motorsport Chevrolet 2m03.362s -
17 Rob Huff LADA Sport Rosneft Lada 2m03.487s -
18 Nasser Al-Attiyah Campos Racing Chevrolet 2m03.883s -

RACE TWO GRID:

Pos Driver Team Car
1 John Filippi Campos Racing Chevrolet
2 Tom Coronel ROAL Motorsport Chevrolet
3 Yvan Muller Citroen Total WTCC Citroen
4 Ma Qinghua Citroen Total WTCC Citroen
5 Norbert Michelisz Zengo Motorsport Honda
6 Nicky Catsburg LADA Sport Rosneft Lada
7 Hugo Valente Campos Racing Chevrolet
8 Sebastien Loeb Citroen Total WTCC Citroen
9 Mehdi Bennani Sebastien Loeb Racing Citroen
10 Jose Maria Lopez Citroen Total WTCC Citroen
11 Tiago Monteiro Honda Racing Team JAS Honda
12 Nicolas Lapierre LADA Sport Rosneft Lada
13 Stefano D'Aste All-Inkl.com Munnich Motorsport Chevrolet
14 Gabriele Tarquini Honda Racing Team JAS Honda
15 Gregoire Demoustier Craft-Bamboo Racing Chevrolet
16 Tom Chilton ROAL Motorsport Chevrolet
17 Rob Huff LADA Sport Rosneft Lada
18 Nasser Al-Attiyah Campos Racing Chevrolet

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