Ma Qing Hua secures reverse grid front-row on debut

Echoing in the achievement of his Argentinian Citroën team-mate last year at Termas de Río Hondo, Ma Qing Hua has put his C-Elysée in a strong position for the start of the second race at Moscow, where he’ll be the best placed Citroën driver, starting second behind the Campos Chevrolet of Hugo Valente.

A strong showing on his debut, although with the strong performance of Citroën so far this year it’s also the worst qualifying for the French manufacturer on pace so far, though does give them the edge for the second race, with a front-row grid spot while Yvan Muller will start fifth, Sébastien Loeb seventh, and José María López tenth.

“It was a good start for me in my first race with Citroën Racing,” said Ma. “The conditions changed a lot from one session to the next. I think that is particularly difficult for me due to my lack of experience. I ran into a lot of traffic in Q2. Without that, I could have done better. But I’m in a good position for race 2, so it’s a positive result.”

Team Principal Yves Matton added:
“Race after race, we are seeing qualifying get closer and closer. Today, more than ever, you really had to produce a perfect lap to win pole position, and that’s what Pechito López did. Sébastien Loeb, meanwhile, didn’t have a good Q3 and was pushed back into fourth place. Unfortunately, Yvan Muller wasn’t able to make it through to the final qualifying session, but he did enough to give himself a chance of points in both races. The other thing I’m really happy about is the performance of Ma Qing Hua. He kept on getting better and he can set his sights on a podium spot in race 2”