The top 10 WTCC drivers of 2014

Citroen risked and Citroen was rewarded. The Versailles-based team had committed itself to 'Project M43' and the building of a test-hack World Touring Car Championship machine before the introduction of TC1 regulations for 2014 was rubber-stamped.

The move, along with throwing resources at an intensive year of testing, transformed a World Rally Championship-winning team into a circuit racing virtuoso. The foundations for a record-breaking season had been laid.

The three Citroen C-Elysee racers, Yvan Muller, Sebastien Loeb and Jose Maria Lopez, arrived at the Marrakesh season-opener in April carrying a performance advantage of daunting magnitude.

It was as apparent that the battle for the drivers' title would be conducted in-house between Citroen's stellar line-up.

1. JOSE MARIA LOPEZ
Citroen C-Elysee WTCC
Championship position 1st, 462 points
Wins: 10 (six in feature races)
Poles: 7
Fastest laps: 11

The only non-multiple-world-champion of Citroen's trio proved an inspired signing. In his first full season in the series, Lopez went from the wildcard in Citroen's line-up to the benchmark driver in two rounds.

His pole and victory first time out indicated what was to come, although the Marrakech result was in part assisted by an Yvan Muller qualifying error and the adoption of cautious, follow-my-leader-style, team tactics.

Of greater merit was a spectacular charge from 18th (last) to first in France next time out. Arguably the drive of the season, the Paul Ricard performance underlined that Lopez was immediately at home in a car similar to his background in Argentina's TC2000.

Upbeat, electric in overtaking and a brilliant ambassador for the series, Lopez was a classy champion.

A double win in Argentina was identified as a turning point where he felt closest challenger Muller, perhaps, conceded defeat. Lopez entered the Termas de Rio Hondo weekend 37 points clear and packed up for Beijing having stretched the lead to 60.

The title was secured in fitting style, and with a round to spare, thanks to victory number nine at Suzuka.

2. YVAN MULLER
Citroen C-Elysee WTCC
Championship position: 2nd, 336 points
Wins: 4 (all feature races)
Poles: 3
Fastest laps: 3

The outgoing champion scored four superb wins but finished the year a distant second in the drivers' standings. In the C-Elysee, Muller was no longer in the familiar comfort zone of the S2000 cars in which he had claimed four titles.

Misfortune was a contributing factor to the 126-points conceded to Lopez in the final standings, but the Alsace ace acknowledged his weaknesses in 2014 and knows he must raise his game.

Muller's season got off to an unfortunate start in Morocco where he was an innocent party in a startline crash. The Frenchman also felt aggrieved after being squeezed onto the grass by Lopez in Austria, precipitating a second startline shunt.

Although a fighting victory from pole in Hungary had reduced the deficit to 10 points, the narrowest it would be all season, post-Austria Muller appeared under pressure in a way most observers couldn't recall.

The talent remained, but Muller admitted frustration at his underdeveloped understanding of the C-Elysee's aerodynamic capabilities and there were distractions off-track.

Indicative of his season, Muller witnessed Lopez clinch the title at Suzuka from the pitlane after retiring with a puncture. The pepper-grey beard only partially masked the same resigned expression as after being clattered out of the preceding race at Shanghai by Loeb.

However, the misfortune was in a way academic, Lopez had dethroned the king with regularly superior performances.

3. NORBERT MICHELISZ
Zengo Motorsport Honda Civic WTCC
Championship position: 4th, 201 points
Wins: 0
Poles: 0
Fastest laps: 0

Michelisz didn't enjoy the benefit of the pre-season testing undertaken by the factory JAS Honda drivers, and he started the season comparatively quietly. At his home round in Hungary, traditionally where 'Norbi' pulls out the stops, suspension problems struck in qualifying. However, the meeting coincided with an improved showing from Honda.

On race day, Michelisz was one of the few drivers able to overtake. The Zengo man charged from 11th into the top six, getting the better of Loeb.

Thereafter Michelisz's campaign would gather momentum. He fleetingly ran second in Slovakia, where he claimed his first podium of the year, and swapped the lead several times with eventual winner Ma Qing Hua's superior Citroen in Russia before concluding his race being shoulder-barged by Loeb.

In the second half of the year the black and orange Civic regularly outqualified the factory Hondas. Runner-up positions to Lopez in Argentina and Macau gave the accomplished Michelisz the honour of finishing top non-Citroen driver in the standings.

4. SEBASTIEN LOEB
Citroen C-Elysee WTCC
Championship position: 3rd, 295 points
Wins: 2 (1 feature race)
Poles: 0
Fastest laps: 2

The nine-time WRC champion had never finished second to long-serving Citroen team-mate Dani Sordo in his rallying career, but he had to get used to a playing a supporting role in his maiden season in the WTCC.

Loeb had much to learn, and he admitted finding elements of the series difficult to master, but by the end of the season there were signs that racing was becoming intuitive.

Expectations were perhaps raised unrealistically high following a victory on his debut weekend in Morocco, and Loeb became the only man other than Lopez to lead the standings when he eked out a five-point lead after race one in France.

He started every weekend as a serious threat and can potentially make big strides in 2015.

A top-class drive in sodden conditions in Slovakia, where he and Lopez lapped two seconds faster than the opposition, yielded a second victory of the season.

If criticisms can be levelled at the 40-year-old, it would be his less effective passing ability compared to his team-mates in reversed-grid races.

A brave manoeuvre to overtake Gabriele Tarquini around the outside of the daunting Signes corner at Paul Ricard proved that Loeb can do it, but the aggressive swerves at Gianni Morbidelli in Russia, Tom Chilton in Argentina and Tiago Monteiro, after contact, in France appeared unnecessary and at odds with one of such obvious talent.

5. TIAGO MONTEIRO
Honda WTC Team (JAS) Honda Civic WTCC
Championship position: 5th, 186 points
Wins: 0
Poles: 0
Fastest laps: 1

Honda's car builder JAS started the season playing catch-up. The team had waited to push the button on its TC1 Civic WTCC until the regulations had been finalised and the decision had come from Citroen that it was committing to the series.

Matters worsened when Tarquini's car was written off in round one. The test car was put into race use, and Honda's development programme immediately fell behind schedule.

Portuguese racer Monteiro has usually been shaded slightly by Tarquini when paired together in previous seasons at Honda and SEAT, but this year he turned the tide. The extra aero dependence of the TC1 cars perhaps played to Monteiro's strengths and he held fourth in the standings behind the dominant Citroen trio for much of the year.

The former grand prix driver ended the season win-less, having suffered rotten luck. At Paul Ricard a late race safety car negated a big lead; Monteiro was due to start on pole for the cancelled second race in Slovakia and in Macau he suffered power-steering failure on the penultimate lap when leading.

6. GABRIELE TARQUINI
Honda WTC Team (JAS) Honda Civic WTCC
Championship position: 6th, 182 points
Wins: 1 (reversed-grid)
Poles: 0
Fastest laps: 1

Tarquini showed no ill-effects from being T-boned in Morocco practice by Morbidelli and ruled out of both races. Following a strong run in France, he was denied a possible victory at Moscow Raceway when his car was hit up the rear and unsettled by team-mate Monteiro into Turn 1, just as the Italian appeared on the verge of passing eventual winner Lopez.

It was not until the penultimate round at Suzuka that the veteran took the top step of the podium. Tarquini had endured a lamentable qualifying effort on Honda's home ground, but 10th place translated into the coveted reversed-grid pole position.

New tyres were used to maximise the chance of converting the favourable starting position into some consolation for Honda and Tarquini didn't squander his opportunity.

Elsewhere, reliability issues and dissatisfaction at Citroen's performance advantage proved testing, but Tarquini was ever the professional and displayed guts by finishing on the podium in Macau when ill with food poisoning.

7. TOM CHILTON
ROAL Motorsport Chevrolet RML Cruze TC1
Championship position: 8th, 150 points
Wins: 1 (feature race)
Poles: 1
Fastest laps: 1

Chilton finished behind ROAL team-mate Tom Coronel in the standings, but he displayed superior qualifying speed. The Briton gained considerable kudos by becoming the only non-Citroen feature race winner of the year with a stunning drive from pole at the tight Goldenport track.

Aside from his Beijing brilliance, Chilton displayed expertly-judged racecraft in an enthralling dice with former RML Chevy team-mate Muller in Argentina until the Citroen was squeezed off the road by his current team-mate Loeb.

A fine drive to second at Suzuka was perhaps equalled by charging to seventh at Shanghai from a pitlane start. Chilton had been unable to take up his original second row start after a wheel detached in race one.

8. TOM CORONEL
ROAL Motorsport Chevrolet RML Cruze TC1
Championship position: 7th, 159 points
Wins: 0
Poles: 0
Fastest laps: 0

The World Touring Car Championship's compressed early season schedule of four races in five weeks threatened to derail the popular Coronel's season following a heavy startline crash in round one in Marrakech. When the ROAL Cruze and local hero Mehdi Bennani's Civic made contact, Coronel's car came off markedly worse.

The damage to the Cruze necessitated a replacement shell, and sidelined Coronel from round two in France a week later. That the Dutchman, who went into the first race with only 70km of testing under his belt, ended the year as the highest-placed Chevrolet driver is testimony to his resilience.

The Morocco crash may have produced great live television when Coronel and Bennani 'discussed' the incident on the reassembled grid, but it was an unwelcome strain for Coronel after a demanding winter raising the backing for his drive.

Coronel adapted well to the Cruze after years competing in BMWs and the difficulties gave way to brighter days such as in Austria, where he finished second only to Muller.

Coronel was similarly in the podium hunt on other tracks famed for accentuating driver ability such as Spa and Macau, and a stunning rally-flick to pass Michelisz at Moscow was one of the overtaking moves of the season.

9. ROB HUFF
Lada Sport Lada Granta 1.6T
Championship position: 10th, 93 points
Wins: 2 (reversed-grid races)
Poles: 0
Fastest laps: 1

Huff, the 2012 champion, returned to a factory team after a year spent in Munnich Motorsport's SEAT Leon. Similar giantkilling performances were produced as the Briton spearheaded the Lada Sport team.

He ran fifth in the damp early laps at Paul Ricard, but was only really able to shine when the revised Granta was introduced.

The nadir of the season came at Spa, where the Lada was five seconds off the pace.

Compromises and weight issues stemming from Lada Sport's rush to design and build the Granta were addressed in an intensive summer development programme.

Inefficient aerodynamics continued to hamper performance on high-speed circuits, but a redesigned front sub-frame and suspension allowed Huff to lead in Argentina.

The breakthrough maiden podium at Termas was a prelude to heroic drives at Beijing Goldenport and in Macau, where the stoic and hard-working Lada Sport crew were rewarded by euphoric victories.

10. GIANNI MORBIDELLI
Munnich Motorsport Chevrolet RML Cruze TC1
Championship position: 9th, 109 points
Wins: 1 (reversed-grid)
Poles: 1
Fastest laps: 0

Morbidelli entered the season as the reigning Superstars champion, and took a couple of rounds to acclimatise from the four-wheel drive Audi to front-wheel drive Chevrolet Cruze.

His inherent class finally came to the fore at the Hungaroring, where he became the first non-Citroen winner. The Italian drove flawlessly, powering past reversed-grid pole-man Hugo Valente away from the line from the outside of the front row, and giving the pursuing Monteiro no opportunity to overtake.

On the final lap, Morbidelli survived an assault from Monteiro into the second chicane, brought about in part by the Munnich driver's long brake pedal.

The win made the former grand prix driver's outright pole position at the Salzburgring only slightly less of a shock.

Thereafter, Morbidelli's form fluctuated from the fringes of the top six to struggling to break into the top 10. The inconsistency was in part due to factory competitors Honda's and Lada's development yielding dividends.

OTHERS

Perhaps the most emotional result of the year came at Shanghai, when Mehdi Bennani claimed a long overdue victory. In parc ferme the Moroccan was faint with emotion and the effects of a bad vibration and he had to sit down in tears. Bennani suffered more than his share of reliability issues, and narrowly missed out on inclusion in our top 10.

Had he completed a full season, Ma Qing Hua might also have warranted inclusion. The Chinese racer was an occasional fourth driver at Citroen and produced an excellent reversed-grid win on his debut at Moscow.

A collapsed window disrupted Ma's second outing at Spa, but the former Friday Formula 1 practice driver also showed well at Shanghai where he pushed eventual winner Lopez hard.

Campos Racing's Hugo Valente also deserves a mention. The young Parisian produced several excellent drives, often hanging onto the coat-tails of the Citroen men. Three third places and a fastest lap under-represents Valente's efforts.

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- The Autosport.com Team

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