Citroën looking forward to Manufacturers’ title

Citroën put four cars in Q3 for the first time in its World Touring Car Championship history at Shanghai. The French squad took pole position with José María López, whilst local hero Ma Qing Hua came second to split the championship leader from his challenger and team-mate Yvan Muller. Norbert Michelisz took fourth with the only non-Citroën car in the final segment of qualifying, with Sébastien Loeb paying for a last corner mistake by ending up fifth.

There are mixed feelings in the Citroën garage after qualifying. José María López found the perfect lap just when it was needed to grab pole position:”I wasn’t particularly confident before Q3, because I hadn’t been able to improve between Q1 and Q2,” said the championship leader. “We made a few changes to the set-up, but I still thought that it would be difficult to beat Ma Qing Hua. I had to beat my personal best by six tenths! In the end, we made the right calls and I managed to put in a perfect lap. As I crossed the finishing line, I knew that I had a chance of taking pole position.”

The Argentinian admitted he is starting to feel the pressure:”It’s an excellent result for the team and for me. Little by little, we are getting closer to the end of the season and I can feel the pressure mounting. But that’s the way it is when you are fighting to win a Championship!”.

Chinese driver Ma Qing Hua managed to take a front row spot and, despite not taking pole position, he seems to be happy, although he feels he took a perhaps too cautious approach for the final shootout:”The whole team has done a fantastic job since the start of the weekend. As I’m not doing a full season, I have to try even harder to get to the same level as my rivals.

We have made a lot of progress, to the extent where I set the fastest time in Free Practice. And then I managed to make it through to Q3 for the first time. I opted for a fairly safe approach for this final attempt. I put in a good lap, but I could have gone a little bit faster.”

Yvan Muller said he almost gave up on the title fight, and is focusing on Citroën’s success in the Manufacturers’ as well as 2015:”My lap in Q3 was good, I didn’t make any mistakes, but I just wasn’t quick enough. We’ll have to look at the data acquisition to understand where I lost time. In any case, I did my best. Tomorrow should be a big day for the team, because we should win the Manufacturers’ title. As far as I’m concerned, I’m thinking mainly about 2015!”

Sébastien Loeb had a difficult session after having been stopped by an electrical problem in Q2. Although the Frenchman still made it through to the final segment, his lap was ruined by a mistake at the last corner which prevented him from taking more than fifth:“Qualifying was pretty tough today. In Q2, I had an electrical issue which prevented me from making a final attempt. I had to watch the others out on track, but they didn’t manage to beat me so I held onto a top 5 place. My Q3 lap was pretty good, until I hit a tyre wall on the final corner. If I hadn’t done that, we might have taken all of the first four places.”

Citroën only need to score two points to make sure they can celebrate the Manufacturers’ title after Race 1.