José María López celebrates “perfect weekend” in Argentina

Reigning champion José María López got the 2015 season off on a high with a win and a second place at the Termas de Río Hondo circuit in Argentina, fighting off a challenge from Yvan Muller at the start of race one, and working his way forward from tenth to second in race two behind Citroën team-mate Sébastien Loeb.

López was caught out at the start of race one by a fast-starting Yvan Mulller, but López was able to get back ahead of his French team-mate into Turn 2 despite some slight contact to the rear. From then on, López was on his own, crossing the line more than three seconds clear by the finish.

“I think it’s a perfect weekend for me and for the team,” said López. “It was very important for me to arrive here and be strong, and for me I think it was a fantastic weekend. I have very strong team-mates, even though I won both races last year I knew (doing that again) was going to be very difficult, so scoring many points and having a strong weekend and winning the first race was what I wanted.

In race two, López gradually gained ground despite not having as good a start as team-mates Ma Qing Hua and Sébastien Loeb, but was still up to third before the safety car was called on lap three, and soon passed Gabriele Tarquini’s Honda for second place, settling in behind Loeb.

“The second race was very difficult,” said López. “I was able to pass Yvan at the first corner and then I went through the field, but Seb has more pace than me, I just couldn’t catch him, so about five laps from the end I just decided to save the tyres a little bit, for me second place was still a very good result. I have to congratulate Seb, it was a very good victory.”

López now leads the championship on 48 points, just five points clear of Loeb after Argentina, with Tiago Monteiro the next best placed on 28, heading to the next round of the WTCC at Morocco on April 19th.