RML celebrate sixth 1-2 of the season in Shanghai

The RML team have secured their sixth front row lock-out of the 2013 WTCC season in Shanghai, with Yvan Muller taking his seventh pole position of the season. Already the drivers’ champions, the team can secure the Yokohama Teams’ Trophy this weekend.

Muller set his pole position lap without a tow, despite the perceived advantage of a slipstream on the Shanghai International Circuit’s back straight, breaking the lap record set by his Chevrolet team-mate of last season, Alain Menu.

“That was a great lap,” said Muller. “It’s a very challenging circuit and I knew I needed a slipstream going out but I ended up on my own with a train behind me, which wasn’t quite the plan. So with no choice I pushed as hard as I could and thankfully it was enough.”

Muller, now unassailable in the drivers’ standings, says he’ll now work to help secure team-mate Tom Chilton second in the drivers’ standings for RML, before the Frenchman’s departure to the new Citroën WTCC programme in 2014.

“Tomorrow we’ll see how the race unfolds but of course Tom is trying to secure second in the standings and we all want to finish the season with an RML 1-2 so we have to work together.”

Chilton, four-tenths off of his team-mate’s pace in qualifying, was happy to grab the other spot on the front row after qualifying.

“I’ve been struggling a bit all weekend so I’m really happy to be on the front row,” said Chilton. “I was a bit surprised also as I did not manage to get the tow off Yvan that we were planning for. Actually I ended up towing the rest of the field around… Tomorrow is going to be a tough race but I am confident that I can win from here if we can control the tyre degradation.”