DOHA: World champion Jose Maria Lopez of Argentina last night scored his 10th win of the season while Yvan Muller wound up his campaign in 2015 by taking race two on the final of the World Touring Car Championship (WTCC).
Lopez, who had sealed his second world title earlier this season, last night won the first ever night race in his Citreon C-Elysee at Losail International Circuit where he equalled the record for 10 wins in a season he set last year.
In race two, Frenchman Muller overcame a stuttering start to the race by powering his Citroen C-Elysee to win, staged under lights at the iconic Losail Circuit.
Muller finished ahead of Citroen stablemate MA Qing Hua of China by a margin of 5.264 seconds.
Norbert Michelisz of Hungary finished third in race two while rallying legend Sebastian Loeb ended in fourth spot.
Mehdi Bennani of Morocco wound up a memorable show in Qatar where he picked up a podium in race one.
With his third-place finish in race two, Michelisz topped the Yokohama Drivers’ Trophy with a tally of 175 points. Moroccan star Bennani finished the season with 173 points.
Hugo Valente, Gabriele Tarquini, Lopez, Tiago Monteiro and Nicolas Lapierre completed the top 10 in race two.
By winning his sixth race of the season, Muller grabbed back second spot in overall WTCC points standings.
Lopez finished the season with 475 points while Muller ended 2015 with a tally of 357. Loeb finished the season in third spot with 356 points.
Earlier in race one, Lopez produced another smooth drive, winning with a margin of 7.631 seconds. The victory allowed Lopez to register his season-best performance with his 10th win in 2015. The Argentine finished ahead of Bennani who shadowed the world champion for the entire duration of the race. Bennani, a major hit with Moroccan fans at Losail Circuit, finished 7.631 seconds behind Lopez.
Frenchman Hugo Valente finished in third spot in his Chevrolet C-Elysee.
Despite relentless pressure from the gang following the Argentine, Lopez survived a first-corner chase by Loeb and sustained a good rhythm to force a yet another win under lights.
Loeb endured a constant battle with Bennani amd Valente before eventually settling for fourth spot in the first of two 12-lap races.
Hua finished in fifth spot in his Citroen C-Elysee, a notch above stablemate Muller of France.
Michelisz was seventh ahead of fellow Honda driver Monteiro, who edged LADA’s Nicky Catsburg for eighth on the penultimate lap.
Qatar’s Nasser Saleh Al Attiyah finished in 17th spot and yet said he enjoyed his debut in WTCC. Al Attiyah finished in 14th spot in race two.
“Actually I am happy to be with these great drivers here and the high level. It’s completely new for me compared to what I normally do,” Al Attiyah said.
“I am really happy to do the final race for me at home. It’s good to discuss a lot of things for this competition. It’s a great race and I have been watching a lot the events this season. I am happy to race here,” he added.
The Peninsula
