Vila Real WTCC: Jose Maria Lopez leads race one Citroen one-two
Reigning World Touring Car champion Jose Maria Lopez led flawlessly from pole position to victory in race one in Vila Real, followed home by Citroen team-mate Sebastien Loeb
Third-place qualifier Hugo Valente in the Campos Chevrolet had confided to AUTOSPORT on Saturday that he was apprehensive about the start, which is conducted on a part of the track off the racing line.
Those fears came to pass as he was swallowed up as the lights went out while the front row Citroen duo moved clear.
Honda privateer Norbert Michelisz moved up from fourth to third, followed by the factory Civics of Gabriele Tarquini and Tiago Monteiro.
As Valente finally got up to speed he became the meat in a Citroen sandwich as Yvan Muller and Ma Qing Hua, who had already dispatched the Ladas of Jaap van Lagen and Nicky Catsburg, tried to go by on each side.
Valente was clipped by both cars, more firmly by Ma's, and cruised into the pits to retire.
Loeb could keep Lopez in sight but could not get close enough to mount a challenge, and the order up front remained set throughout.
After the first lap fracas Ma and Muller ran in sixth and seventh but gave fifth-placed Monteiro no trouble.
Ladas occupied the final three places in the top 10 as van Lagen built a gap from Catsburg, who had Rob Huff looming in his mirrors for the majority of the race.
RESULTS - 13 LAPS:
| Pos | Driver | Team | Car | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jose Maria Lopez | Citroen Total WTCC | Citroen | 26m23.906s |
| 2 | Sebastien Loeb | Citroen Total WTCC | Citroen | 1.519s |
| 3 | Norbert Michelisz | Zengo Motorsport | Honda | 5.391s |
| 4 | Gabriele Tarquini | Honda Racing Team JAS | Honda | 5.711s |
| 5 | Tiago Monteiro | Honda Racing Team JAS | Honda | 9.402s |
| 6 | Ma Qinghua | Citroen Total WTCC | Citroen | 12.807s |
| 7 | Yvan Muller | Citroen Total WTCC | Citroen | 21.126s |
| 8 | Jaap van Lagen | LADA Sport Rosneft | Lada | 22.324s |
| 9 | Nicky Catsburg | LADA Sport Rosneft | Lada | 27.636s |
| 10 | Rob Huff | LADA Sport Rosneft | Lada | 28.860s |
| 11 | Mehdi Bennani | Sebastien Loeb Racing | Citroen | 29.395s |
| 12 | Tom Coronel | ROAL Motorsport | Chevrolet | 29.853s |
| 13 | Stefano D'Aste | All-Inkl.com Munnich Motorsport | Chevrolet | 34.158s |
| 14 | Tom Chilton | ROAL Motorsport | Chevrolet | 47.443s |
| 15 | John Filippi | Campos Racing | Chevrolet | 1m06.056s |
| 16 | Gregoire Demoustier | Craft-Bamboo Racing | Chevrolet | 1m06.927s |
| - | Nestor Girolami | Honda Racing team Sweden | Honda | Disqualified |
| - | Hugo Valente | Campos Racing | Chevrolet | Retirement |
Vila Real WTCC: Citroen's Jose Maria Lopez and Ma Qing Hua on poles
WTCC Vila Real: Citroen's Ma Qing Hua wins red-flagged race two
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