Championship leader José María López was left feeling “frustrated and angry” after contact in the second World Touring Car Championship (WTCC) race in Japan forced him into retirement, despite taking victory in the opening encounter.
López started race two from ninth on the grid, but the Citroën driver’s race never got going as contact with team-mate Sébastien Loeb gave him a front-left puncture. López was nudged by the Zengő Motorsport car of Norbert Michelisz heading into turn one, which in turn sent him into Loeb.
After the race López apologised to Michelisz, even though the decisive contact came from the Hungarian’s Honda.
“First I have to say sorry for Norbi because I thought it was him as he was the only car behind me,” said López. “I got hit quite hard from a car behind at the first corner. My car lifted and I went straight into Séb. I’m really sorry to Séb because I could have ruined his race but I ruined mine and that’s why I have mixed feelings.
“I was unlucky at the start of the race. I was very frustrated and really angry, saying how could somebody hit me like this? But it’s racing. That’s why I always try to do my best because you can always lose points like this. I’ll have to see the camera to see who it was with the impact on my car.”
Despite the setback, López failed to lose any ground to his main title rival Yvan Muller in the race, as the Frenchman was shown the black-and-orange flag for having a loose bonnet, for which he ultimately also retired from the race.
“The second race is always difficult with many frictions,” added López. “I am sorry for Yvan [Muller], but I go to Shanghai with a good lead. My objective here was to hold the difference but I am going there with 74 points so it’s looking very well. But these things can happen in every race.
“For me it didn’t happen too much [this year] but it did happen. I will try to do another good weekend and the main thing for me is I have been quite competitive in the last two races. That’s very important for me and for the team as well because we managed to win here with a heavy car so congratulations to Citroën and everyone. I am very happy – Japan is good for me.”
Citroën Racing Deputy Team Principal Xavier Mestelan praised the performance of López in race one for winning at a circuit where the 60 kg of compensation weight carried by the C-Elysée held back the performance of the car.
“Despite carrying 60 kg of ballast, which is a major handicap on a circuit like this, we managed to perform well,” said Mestelan. “First of all, I must pay tribute to ‘Pechito’ López for his win. He got a terrific start and followed that up with a perfect race.
“Things didn’t go quite so well for him in race two, but that is sometimes how it goes when you’re in the pack.
“Citroën is now in an ideal position to secure another World Championship title. That will be our ambition at the next meeting in China.”