Nordschleife WTCC: Jose Maria Lopez takes narrow race two win

Lopez had to come from behind after forfeiting his lead at the start, but always looked comfortable as he ensured he took maximum points from the meeting.

With both Yvan Muller - the Frenchman involved in a shunt with Tiago Monteiro in race one - and Tom Coronel absent from the race two grid, Michelisz was promoted to second alongside Lopez on the front row.

The Hungarian made the most of that break and outdragged Lopez on the run to the first corner, blocking off the Argentinian's line through the exit.

Michelisz's lead was short-lived, however, as Lopez swept back ahead on the grand prix circuit loop with a fine move around the outside of the Honda man at the Schumacher Esses.

Lopez stretched his legs on the Nordschleife, crossing the line three seconds to the good at the end of the first lap, but after edging away again slightly on the second tour he lost a heap of time in the final sector, allowing Michelisz - plus Tom Chilton and team-mate Rob Huff - to close up behind.

But Lopez held firm, ensuring he had enough of an advantage into the final sector to hang on to his lead as he crossed the line 0.435s clear.

Michelisz came home a similar margin ahead of Chilton, who like the Honda man claimed a second podium of the weekend, while Huff grabbed his second fourth-place finish of the day despite his best attempts to pass compatriot Chilton on the final lap.

Mehdi Bennani trailed Nicky Catsburg on the opening lap but repassed the Lada man to clinch fifth - finishing just half a second down on Huff.

Sportscar specialist Catsburg did finish best of the Lada Vestas in sixth, while Polestar pair Fredrik Ekblom and Thed Bjork both enjoyed eventful races on their way to seventh and eighth, with the latter battling his way past Gabriele Tarquini at Dottinger Hohe on the final lap.

Tarquini, who before the race spoke of taking a more cautious approach, headed Lada team-mate Hugo Valente for the final points positions.

RACE TWO RESULT

Pos	Driver	Team	Car	Laps	Gap
1	Jose Maria Lopez	Citroen Racing	Citroen	3	26m29.665s
2	Norbert Michelisz	Honda Racing Team JAS	Honda	3	0.435s
3	Tom Chilton	Sebastien Loeb Racing	Citroen	3	0.915s
4	Rob Huff	Honda Racing Team JAS	Honda	3	1.908s
5	Mehdi Bennani	Sebastien Loeb Racing	Citroen	3	2.431s
6	Nicky Catsburg	LADA Sport	Lada	3	4.905s
7	Fredrik Ekblom	Polestar Cyan Racing	Volvo	3	6.072s
8	Thed Bjork	Polestar Cyan Racing	Volvo	3	8.008s
9	Gabriele Tarquini	LADA Sport	Lada	3	8.675s
10	Hugo Valente	LADA Sport	Lada	3	13.860s
11	Sabine Schmitz	Munnich Motorsport	Chevrolet	3	23.305s
12	John Filippi	Campos Racing	Chevrolet	3	28.180s
13	Ferenc Ficza	Zengo Motorsport	Honda	3	33.913s
14	Gregoire Demoustier	Sebastien Loeb Racing	Citroen	3	38.285s
-	Yvan Muller	Citroen Racing	Citroen	0	Not started
-	Tom Coronel	ROAL Motorsport	Chevrolet	0	Not started
-	Tiago Monteiro	Honda Racing Team JAS	Honda	0	Not started

CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS

Pos	Driver	Points
1	Jose Maria Lopez	209
2	Mehdi Bennani	115
3	Tiago Monteiro	94
4	Yvan Muller	94
5	Norbert Michelisz	88
6	Rob Huff	85
7	Tom Chilton	84
8	Nicky Catsburg	70
9	Gabriele Tarquini	57
10	Tom Coronel	50
11	Hugo Valente	47
12	Fredrik Ekblom	35
13	Thed Bjork	27
14	Gregoire Demoustier	11
15	James Thompson	8
16	John Filippi	7
17	Rene Munnich	2
18	Sabine Schmitz	1