Honda explain reasoning behind Citroën protest

Honda have explained the basis behind their protest against Citroën Racing on Saturday evening, which in the end resulted in no action being taken against either of the drivers in question, Yvan Muller or Ma Qing Hua.

The two drivers circulated the track in the second part of qualifying well off the pace, with Muller and Ma both setting the ninth and tenth fastest times and therefore securing the front-row for the reversed grid second race.

“We were’nt happy with the behaviour of the two Citroën drivers,” said Honda Europe Motorsport Manager William de Braekeleer to TouringCarTimes. “We found they drove too slowly and not respecting the spirit of the sporting regulations. Yes, we are disappointed by the final result, as of course of we put a protest we thought there was a matter to judge.

“It was a rare situation where there were only ten cars anyway, so the guy who would drive the slowest would get pole, but everyone still played the game except for two drivers, and when you’re Muller or Ma you don’t do a lap in three minutes. It was horrendously slow, so we protested to make the point and raise the fact as we thought no one was looking into it.”

Honda’s protest was rejected by the stewards as they found that neither Muller or Ma impeded either of Hondas drivers on their flying laps so there was no case for Citroën to answer.