Citroën’s Sébastien Loeb admits that he is surprised to have beaten José María ‘Pechito’ López to victory in the only World Touring Car Championship race at the Slovakiaring, after the Argentine driver was beaten in his only session all weekend.
Lópea had been fastest in Friday testing, both of Saturday’s free practice sessions and took pole position in qualifying. However in the rain-affected opening race in Slovakia, the Argentine got off to a worse start than Loeb, allowing the Frenchman to take the lead before turn one in a race that was eventually stopped after just nine laps.
“Pechito was very strong from the start of the weekend and I didn’t think I would be able to beat him,” admitted Loeb after his second win of the season. “I got off to an excellent start and was leading by the first corner. As I had the best visibility, I was able to attack to open up a bit of a gap.”
Loeb agreed with the decision to bring the safety car out and ultimately red-flag the race, with conditions deteriorating after a downpour that came as the race began.
“The rain got heavier and it became very dangerous,” said Loeb. “The grip was changing hugely from one lap to the next and drivers were aquaplaning almost everywhere. It was a good decision to bring out the safety car – I was even struggling to keep up with it – and then to stop the race. This win gives me valuable points and a boost to my confidence after a difficult weekend at the Hungaroring.”
Loeb moves up to second in the championship, 25 points adrift of leader López, after fellow Citroën driver Yvan Muller had a disastrous race one. The reigning champion was handed a drive-through penalty after a jump-start from second on the grid.
“I made a mistake at the start,” explained Muller. “My car moved forward a metre, then I stopped, before setting off again when the red lights went out. I knew I was going to get a drive-through, and I didn’t attack until I received the penalty.
“I rejoined the pack and managed to gain a few places and pick up a point. The officials made the right decision in stopping the first race and cancelling the second one.”
Citroën Racing’s Team Principal Yves Matton acknowledged that the decision not to run the second race of the day was the correct one, given the heavy rain.
“The rain had become heavier and heavier and the race could not reasonably continue, so the race officials did the right thing,” said Matton. “The decision to cancel race two was also understandable. We saw all afternoon how hard the track was to drive on, and a race contested in those conditions wouldn’t have been much of a sporting spectacle.”