2015 WTCC Race of Argentina - Post-race Press Conference | Federation Internationale de l'Automobile

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2015 WTCC Race of Argentina - Post-race Press Conference

09.03.15

Transcript of the Post-race Press Conference

Present:

José María López, Citroën Total WTCC, first position race one, second position race two

Yvan Muller, Citroën Total WTCC, second position race one

Sébastien Loeb, Citroën Total WTCC, third position race one, first position race two

Tiago Monteiro, Castrol Honda World Touring Car Team, third position race two

Norbert Michelisz, Zengő Motorsport, Yokohama Drivers’ Trophy winner race one

Mehdi Bennani, Sébastien Loeb Racing, Yokohama Drivers’ Trophy winner race two

From pole position to victory in race one. It looked very hot out there but how was the race for you?

JML:

It was a very hot race and we suffer a lot in the car. The race was very good and I’m very happy to

achieve the victory in the first race. It was very important for me and it gave me the confidence for

the second race to be patient with the overtaking. For me it’s been a very strong weekend. I score

lots of points, which is very good for the championship so I’m happy to deliver here and give the

victory to the people. To have four wins from six meetings here is something amazing.

It wasn’t quite the same result in the second race. What stopped you from overtaking your teammate

Sébastien Loeb?

JML:

The second race was very difficult. I made a good start and was able to pass Yvan in the first

corner. I went through the field and tried to go as fast as I can but I think Seb was having a better

pace than me and I couldn’t catch him. I was trying but he was very, very quick. In the end, five

laps from the end, I decided to save the tyres a bit for what was a very good second place. But I

have to congratulate Seb for a very good victory and all the people in the team.

That was some drive in that second race from eighth on the grid. Can you describe your race and

what winning meant to you?

SL:

For sure I’m really happy to start the season like this. I was so pleased in the first race starting third

and keeping the position. In the second race we started eighth, I had a good start, really good and

in the first corner I tried to push, I was in the traffic and tried to find the best way to be aggressive

but not too much like in the past some time. Finally after the first lap I saw there were not so many

drivers around and we were second or third at this point. Then I managed to pass first in the

second lap because I was pushing behind Ma and he made a mistake. From that point we had the

safety car and every car came close. I saw Pechito was third at this point and after the first lap he

was behind me. You know when you have Pechito behind you, you never feel really confident

because he has an incredible speed so I knew I had to push at the maximum to try to keep the

maximum of space because I knew if he got into the slipstream he would pass me so I pushed

really hard and it was the perfect race for me.

Honda starts the season with a podium but are you satisfied with that or could it have been more?

TM:

Obviously we started a bit better than last year with a podium and I must say a bit closer than last

year with a podium. It’s not as close as we wanted, we always want more and we worked hard to

get as good as possible. But we know we still have some updates coming in the first few races. We

also know the first three races are very different from each other so we will have a better idea of

where we are. But we know we can come back fighting. We won’t let them get relaxed, we’ll keep

putting pressure on them and we’ll keep doing our job. That’s what we’re here for. We want more

and more and more and we need to keep pushing.

That was some start from you in race one and a very eventful couple of corners. Could you talk us

through those early exchanges with your team-mate José?

YM:

I did a slightly better start than Pechito and I could go slightly ahead of him. But at the first corner

my front tyre was not totally ready, I got a bit of understeer and Pechito got close behind me and

he retake his position and the race was over. I did my best afterwards and drove as good as I

could but when you’re behind the same car it’s the same advantage and it was impossible to catch.

Race two was also quite eventful, especially when you clashed with Mehdi Bennani. What actually

happened?

YM:

My start was totally bad. I don’t know if the strategy went wrong or if I did the wrong procedure,

which was probably the case. I lost a lot of places before the first corner. Then the second race is

always a bit of a lottery and it depends if you take the good option. I was always on the wrong

option so I was at the back and was losing even more place during the first lap. Then unfortunately

I tried to overtake Mehdi and we had a contact. Then I had to stop because my temperature went

up and that was it.

Yvan mentioned the contact you had in the second race but you had some contact yourself in the

first race with Rob Huff. Could you explain both incidents from your point of view?

MB:

For sure first I had a very difficult Saturday yesterday because in qualifying I tried to understand

more the car but it was too quick to push. I tried to go on the limit but I was not ready. But I must

thank Sébastien Loeb Racing because they are the best team, very professional. But for that we

had to start 12th. Our car was good and we had a very good set-up. I was trying to be in the top 10

and we were improving all the time. With Huff he pushed me in the back on the rear bumper and

after I had no choice but to push out Stefano. I am sorry for Stefano but it was coming from the

back. But it’s very difficult when you are in the traffic although I am very happy because I learned a

lot in this race. I understand more the car. With Yvan I don’t understand exactly what happened. I

was trying to overtake Gabriele. I was a little bit quicker than him but after I saw the car directly

going on the wrong way. I have to finish the race like this. I could not push too much at the rear

and I could not pass the final corner at full throttle. But it’s like this. At the end it’s not a bad

weekend and I have a smile finally.

There was plenty of overtaking from the back of the grid by you in that first race to win the

Yokohama Drivers’ Trophy. What was it like in your Honda Civic?

NM:

After qualifying yesterday my plan was to do damage limitation. I knew it was going to be difficult in

both races. I had a plan for the start and the first three corners and fortunately everything went fine

in both races. In the first race I was quite happy with the balance of the car and I think I had a good

pace, even catching Gabriele and Tiago just slightly. But the distance was too big to get closer. It

was an eventful race in the first part and a little bit less in the second part.

Finally to José, you left here last year with two wins but this year it’s just one win. You’ve had some

time to reflect so was this a good weekend or a not quite a perfect weekend?

JML:

It’s a perfect weekend for me and for the team. It’s the first race of the year and you never know

what it’s going to be like with the other drivers, other teams and your team-mates. It was very

important for me to do what I did here so it was a fantastic weekend. I knew it was going to be

difficult to win two races like I did last tear but I scored many points so I am happy with that.

2015 WTCC Race of Argentina - Post-race Press Conference

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