Chinese GP || April 21 || 15h00 (Local time)

Vila Real, Race 1: López makes it six with Vila Real WTCC triumph

Loeb 2nd, Michelisz 3rd

By Franck Drui

12 July 2015 - 13:31

José María López is a six-time winner in the FIA World Touring Car Championship after he converted pole position into a stylish victory in the first WTCC Race of Portugal in Vila Real.

Argentine López rocketed off the line and was never headed, beating Citroën team-mate Sébastien Loeb to extend his title advantage.

Norbert Michelisz benefited from Hugo Valente’s sluggish start to snatch third with fellow Honda drivers Gabriele Tarquini and home hero Tiago Montiero fourth and fifth respectively.

Ma Qing Hua, Yvan Muller, Jaap van Lagen, Nicky Catsburg and Rob Huff completed the top 10.

Valente pitted at the end of the first turn after an incident-filled first lap, while Néstor Girolami stopped with a suspected mechanical fault.

The second 13-lap race is due to begin at 17h15 local time.

Pos.	Driver	Team	Car	Time
1	Jose Maria Lopez	Citroen Total WTCC	Citroen	13 laps
2	Sebastien Loeb	Citroen Total WTCC	Citroen	+1.519
3	Norbert Michelisz	Zengo Motorsport	Honda	+5.391
4	Gabriele Tarquini	Honda Racing Team JAS	Honda	+5.711
5	Tiago Monteiro	Honda Racing Team JAS	Honda	+9.402
6	Ma Qing Hua	Citroen Total WTCC	Citroen	+12.807
7	Yvan Muller	Citroen Total WTCC	Citroen	+21.126
8	Jaap van Lagen	LADA Sport Rosneft	Lada	+22.324
9	Nicky Catsburg	LADA Sport Rosneft	Lada	+27.636
10	Robert Huff	LADA Sport Rosneft	Lada	+28.860
11	Mehdi Bennani	Sebastien Loeb Racing	Citroen	+29.395
12	Tom Coronel	ROAL Motorsport	Chevrolet	+39.853
13	Stefano D’Aste	Munnich Motorsport	Chevrolet	+34.158
14	Tom Chilton	ROAL Motorsport	Chevrolet	+47.443
15	John Filippi	Campos Racing	Chevrolet	+66.056
16	Grégoire Demoustier	Craft-Bamboo Racing	Chevrolet	+66.927
17	Hugo Valente	Campos Racing	Chevrolet	DNF
18	Nestor Girolami	Nika International	Honda	DNF