Present:
José María López, Citroën Total WTCC, first position
Mehdi Bennani, Sébastien Loeb Racing, second and top Yokohama Drivers’ Trophy contender
Sébastien Loeb, Citroën Total WTCC, third position
Nasser Saleh Al-Attiyah, Campos Racing, leading Qatari driver

Q:
The seventh time you’ve claimed the DHL Pole Position Award this season and the perfect way to start the weekend. Please tell us about your qualifying lap?

JML:
First I congratulate everyone, they did a fantastic job. Yesterday we started really well and we felt really comfortable with the team at this track from the very beginning. To secure the championship at the last race I was a bit more relaxed maybe and this played into my favour. But you always have pressure when you have to catch the top because the other ones are coming and everyone was coming in the sessions and I was afraid I would not make it. In the end everything went in the right way. They improved in Q3 and I knew I had to match my lap or improve it and I went for it. The car was there, sometimes you push the car and it’s not there but it was there although maybe the track was improving a lot. It was a nice lap, when I crossed the line it felt really nice like the first one. It’s always really nice to do a pole position and to be at the front of the field for race one.

Q:
Now it’s a new track for the WTCC and that means a number of set-up changes will have been to your car throughout the event so far. Did you make many changes for qualifying?

JML:
Actually yes because the conditions changed from yesterday. The last two sessions yesterday were around 10 degrees less, it was in night, the tyre pressures are different, the tyre temperatures are different and the car behaves differently. With the wind as well it changed a bit and when we put on the new tyres we never know what the cars are going to do with fresh tyres because we don’t put them on for practice. You have to react quick and for that I have to thank the team. We are an amazing team who reacts really quick and who gives me a good car and a competitive car every time we go to the track.

Q:
Turning to Mehdi, I don’t know if we should be happy or sad because you came so close to your first pole position in the WTCC and then the world champion came and beat your time right at the end. But a fantastic effort anyway to be second fastest so how pleased are you with that performance?

MB:
For sure I’m happy. It’s my first time at this track, it’s a night race for everybody, which is new and I have to fight against these huge and talented drivers. It’s wonderful to be here and to fight with them for the pole position is something very strong for the future of my career. I want to represent the Moroccan flag and to fight to be qualifying first in the WTCC. But we are not only here to do that, we are here to fight for the title and I hope that in the future Morocco can be world champion in this category.

Q:
Now qualifying only finished a few moments ago but have you had time to reflect on your lap, is there anything you could have done slightly differently to get those extra tenths needed to beat Pechito?

MB:
I think we are still learning and we have to congratulate all of the team, Sébastien Loeb Racing because we have been doing a fantastic job and I think we are really learning lots of new things in every race. We cannot do what the factory drivers are doing. The factory drivers have been in the car for one year more than me and they can be pushing directly but for me I need more time. My laps was a good lap but for sure we can be faster. José has shown this but I must thank him because he has given me the possibility to learn even more.

Q:
Turning to the man you just mentioned, Sébastien Loeb, for what sadly could be your final qualifying in the World Touring Car Championship. Not quite pole position but you were still in the top-five shootout. What were your emotions after that session?

SL:
For sure it was quite a good qualifying session but not the fantastic lap that José did. Mehdi was also really, really fast because I had a feeling I did quite a good lap, just a bit cautious in the fast corners where I was not 100 per cent confident because I made a few mistakes there before so I was a bit too cautious on that point. But for the rest I am happy to be in the top five. We are still fighting for the first place with Yvan who was a bit further behind but starts in a good position for the second race. We will have to push hard and we will see but for the moment it’s not too bad.

Q:
That all sounds very exciting and tonight’s two night races will be exciting so how much are going to miss all of this touring car racing Seb?

SL:
For sure it was a pleasure for me to drive in this championship. I learn a lot of things, completely another way of working. In rallying we didn’t go so far with the details but here you have to learn to analyse everything and go very far in the details so it’s a lot of work to prepare for the races. I enjoyed it, I had some great moments, some great fights on the track, which is what I enjoy the most. For the rest for sure I wanted to continue a little bit more but finally it’s like that. We will race in other projects so it will be okay for me and I will watch the WTCC on TV.

Q:
Turning to Nasser your qualifying ended after Q1 but you’ve progressed every time you’ve been on the track, which was your target when you started, right?

NSA:
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. 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.

Q:
So what’s your strategy going to be tonight?

NSA:
It will be not easy but if we can win some places why not but we need to finish the races.

Questions from the floor:

Stéphane Barbe, L’Equipe

Q:
You were quite close to going out in Q1, only P12. What happened?

SL:
I made a mistake in Turn 12, it’s one of the corners where I was a bit cautious in turns two and three. I tried to go a bit faster but I lost the line and went off so I had to start the second lap with the tyre that had already done a full lap and the tyre degradation is quite big. I did what I could in the second lap with my tyres and I have to say we finished sixth when we crossed the line so it was okay but with the improvement behind it was a little bit close.