Yvan Muller hoping for clean fight into the first corner

Citroën Total WTCC’s Yvan Muller has hinted that the three team-mates should look out for each other into the La Source hairpin, the hard right-hand first corner in the first of today’s races at the Spa-Francorchamps circuit.

The four-time champion took his third pole position of the year and has closed down the gap to 39 points to team-mate José María López. Muller is still trying to recover the points lost after two non-finishes at Marrakech and in Salzburg, and in the post-qualifying press conference, perhaps implied that the second race start at the Salzburgring where team-mate López cut him off unsighted is still on his mind.

“Like every meeting the first corner is crucial,” said Muller. “Maybe a little bit more on this corner as it’s a very tight hairpin corner. We are all together, and of course we will look after each other I hope, and then we will see, and then we will fight, there will be some opportunities to pass during the race.”

In terms of approaching the car’s set-up at the long track, where each car seems to be stronger at different points, the Chevrolet most notably faster through the first sector through Eau Rouge and up the back straight, and the Citroëns and Hondas quicker through the twisty last two sectors, Muller says that the key is both the start and then to ensure he has the straight-line speed to stay ahead of his team-mates.

“The slipstream is important here, and it will be a bit easier to overtake for Seb and Pechito, but we have the same car, so where I am faster or slower, their car will be almost the same. So the key is to do a good start and find a set-up which is a good compromise on the three sectors, but for sure I will aim to have a set-up which is a bit faster on the straight.”