Muller and Loeb declare WTCC title fight alive despite Lopez lead
Both Yvan Muller and Sebastien Loeb have refused to rule themselves out of the World Touring Car Championship fight in 2015, despite Citroen team-mate Jose Maria Lopez's dominant form
Speaking ahead of the two Nurburgring Nordschleife races, where he and Lopez shared a win apiece, Muller backtracked on a previous claim that he had given up on the world championship after a poor weekend at the Hungaroring.
"You know why I said that? Because when 10 guys ask me the same question, the 10th time I just changed my mind because I've had enough repeating the same thing," he said.
"So it was just a bullshit. I didn't think so many people would take it. Nobody took the nine-times answer."
Though Lopez now has a 50-point lead after claiming a win and a second-place finish in Germany, Muller has closed to one point behind Loeb, who is currently second in the standings.
Loeb finished second to Lopez in the first Nurburgring WTCC race, then was a disappointed fifth in the second as Muller claimed a narrow victory.
But the nine-time World Rally champion believes he still he has a chance of catching Lopez in the points with a strong run in the coming races.
"I still hope we can do something," said Loeb. "We have the chance in the next few races to change the tendency that he wins all the time.
"It's getting close [with Muller] now. The first [Nurburgring] race was very good but in the second, in the first corner, I had the choice to either go on the grass or brake and go behind other cars, so I lost a couple of places.
"I'm disappointed with that because I had the speed to do better in the second race."
CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS:
| Pos | Driver | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jose Maria Lopez | 177 |
| 2 | Sebastien Loeb | 127 |
| 3 | Yvan Muller | 126 |
| 4 | Tiago Monteiro | 73 |
| 5 | Ma Qinghua | 64 |
Be part of the Autosport community
Join the conversationShare Or Save This Story
The rookies looking to make their mark on F1 in 2023
Top 10 F1 Monaco GPs ranked: From Mansell to Moss
GP Racing Podcast: How Alonso's F1 fire still burns within
Cyan Racing retains Muller and Ehrlacher for 2020 WTCR campaign
Macau WTCR: Yvan Muller seals win double from fifth on the grid
Macau WTCR: Yvan Muller controls opener amid Lynk & Co team orders
Brake issues hindered Rosenqvist’s chances of IndyCar victory in Long Beach
Ayrton Senna's famous Honda NSX up for sale
Yamaha to test completely new MotoGP bike at Jerez
Krack: Aston Martin frustrated by inconsistent F1 penalty decisions
Why joker laps are entering the mainstream
The making of the world's best tin-top driver
Volvo's plan to conquer the WTCC
The WTCC's Nordschleife gamble paid off
Subscribe and access Autosport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
Top Comments