José María López: “It’s been a fantastic three years”
Outgoing World Touring Car driver José María López celebrated his third consecutive WTCC drivers’ title in Japan, a feat last achieved by Andy Priaulx in 2007, by thanking his Citroën team most of all for the last three seasons.
López, who made his WTCC debut in a one-off at his home race at Termas de Río Hondo in 2013, has dominated the TC1 era after being signed by Citroën for their inaugural season in 2014, seeing off challenges from respected stars Sébastien Loeb and Yvan Muller during the years, culminating in securing his third consecutive drivers’ crown for Citroën after finishing fourth and second in the two races in Motegi.
“I’m probably the happiest person in the world,” said López “You don’t win the championship easily; you don’t win races easily. It’s been a fantastic three years for me. Any driver in the world would like to do this, and I’ve been with the best team in the world, with great team-mates, a great family – everything came together these past few years and I have so say thank you to everybody.
“Mostly I want to say thank you to the team, I wouldn’t be here without Citroën Racing today.”
López now leaves Japan with 120 points over his closest rivals, team-mate Yvan Muller and Honda’s Tiago Monteiro, with 110 left to play for. Although the drivers’ title is now effectively decided, once the FIA World Motor Sport Council confirms the cancellation of the Race of Thailand, the fight for second in the drivers’ title rages on with five drivers separated by just 40 points heading to the last two rounds in China and Qatar.
