José María López crowned at FIA Gala in Qatar

José María López has collected his trophy for winning the 2014 FIA World Touring Car Championship drivers’ title in Doha, Qatar at the FIA Gala.

The Citroën driver became the first rookie to win the Championship this year, taking ten wins from 23 races in what was also the French manufacturer’s first season in the WTCC.

López became the first Argentinian to win an FIA World Championship since Juan-Manuel Fangio won his fourth Formula 1 drivers’ title back in 1957. The 2014 drivers’ champion collected his trophy at the FIA Gala in Doha, Qatar, the country which will take over as host of the WTCC’s season finale from next year.

“It has been an incredible season for me,” said López. “For sure my goal was to fight for the World Championship, but I certainly did not expect to lead the classification from the beginning to the end, claim the title even before Macau and establish a new record for race victories. There are so many feelings in my heart, but firstly I want to say a big thank to my family, my girlfriend and my friends, for their support during all these years.

“And to the whole Citroën team and my team-mates. Without them, I wouldn’t be here. It meant a lot to me to win the title at Suzuka, where Ayrton Senna, my idol, was crowned F1 Champion twice. If there was a place where I wanted this to happen, it was here. Of course this made also a lot of people happy in Argentina. It was the first world title since Fangio. He was the one who made motor racing so popular at home, and it is a big honour for me to be bring a world title to my country and make my countrymen happy.”

Collecting the manufacturers’ title for Citroen, Team Principal Yves Matton said:
“We can say it has been a great year. A year that began, in fact, twenty months ago, when we started working on this project. Whether it was in the technical centre in Versailles or on the ground, the entire team spent a lot energy making sure we were ready for the start of the championship. With a well-designed car and a set of fantastic drivers, we have obtained some truly exceptional results. It was very emotional to claim a 1-2-3 in the Drivers’ Championship. José María López is a worthy World Champion for Citroën, Argentina and the FIA WTCC! We are happy and proud that we managed to help him to win the title; he is a guy who shines for both his performance and his human nature.”