Citroën point to ballast to explain lack of qualifying pace in Russia

Citroën Racing have said that their maximum compensation weight of 80kg was a critical factor in their underperformance in qualifying, with José María López missing the top five shootout for the first time in his World Touring Car Championship career.

“It’s quite a strange feeling not getting through to Q3, but it had to happen one day,” said López.

“I think what we have achieved this season with 80kg of ballast is pretty exceptional, but today, we suffered due to a combination of various factors. Our rivals have always performed very well here and we knew it was going to be even harder this time around.

“We tried to find our grip from the first free practice session, but we never really succeeded. The competitor in me is disappointed, but I am not in a bad situation. My nearest rivals for the title are behind me and my starting positions mean I am in with a shout of a podium place.”

The other factory Citroën C-Elysée of Yvan Muller qualified in eighth, which will convert to third for the reversed grid opening race, giving the Frenchman a good opportunity to outscore his team-mate and title rival at in the first race of the day.

“We were expecting a difficult weekend,” said Citroën Racing team principal Yves Matton. “With 80kg of ballast, when our rivals were carrying 20kg at the most, the handling of our cars was severely affected on what is a very technically demanding circuit.

“I notice that four out of the five cars that made it through to Q3 were carrying no ballast at all,” he added.