Present:
José María López, Citroën Total WTCC, first position race one, third position race two
Yvan Muller, Citroën Total WTCC, second position race one, first position race two
Sébastien Loeb, Citroën Total WTCC, third position race one
Gabriele Tarquini, Castrol Honda World Touring Car Team, second position race one
Mehdi Bennani, Yokohama Drivers’ Trophy winner race one and race two
Ma Qing Hua, Citroën Total WTCC, leading Chinese driver
Yves Matton, Team Principal, Citroën Total WTCC

Q:
Congratulations José on win number eight of the season but while you led from the front there were a few incidents behind and the safety car was deployed. Were you aware of what was going on?

JML:
First I have to congratulate all the Citroën Racing team for the championship* and to say thank you not just to the people here at the track but also at the factory. They have done a great job and gave us a fantastic car again this year. In the beginning I thought Ma was next to me because I didn’t see him in the mirror. Then I realised he had a problem and after that I just tried to do a quick race of course knowing the priority was to finish without doing anything stupid. The car was fantastic and I managed to pull away. I knew Yvan was second and I saw there was the car of [Tom] Coronel in turn three but I didn’t know what was happening. I was in front and was concentrating on staying in front.

Q:
Not quite another victory in race two but third place means you lead the championship by 75 points with four races to go but your battle with Gabriele Tarquini towards the end of the race looked very exciting. What was it like from inside the car?

JML:
It’s one of the reasons why I love motorsport, especially to have a fight with guys like Yvan and Gabriele. I have so much respect for them and I know them for a long time. I have a special relationship with Gabriele, we used the same car in Argentina once. It was a very nice fight but unfortunately for me I couldn’t pass but I knew it was still good for my championship. Anyway I wanted to go by my style. I took some risks and tried to give a fight. I tried to pass him and we finished really, really close. In the end, personally speaking, I am going away with 75 points. It was the objective not to lose points here and what can I say? It’s looking very good for the next race. I knew here was going to be very difficult. Yvan did a great race in the second race and in the first one because he managed to pass a lot of cars so he’s always there. We will see. I will probably have to do the maths but with a good position in race one in Thailand not event winning I could probably do the championship there, which would be a dream for me. I don’t want to think about it but when I do think about it my body shake a bit. It would be something really good.

Q:
Turning to you Yvan following what was WTCC victory number 46 for you. After what you described as a ‘so-so’ qualifying were you expecting that result today?

YM:
No, absolutely not. I was not even expecting to be in the top 10 in qualifying after my Free Practice so finally we could reach the top five. Then in the race I had two good starts, I had a good car that gave me the opportunity to pass some cars and to have a good pace and all the scenarios went in the right direction for me this time. I am pleased for that and of course for Citroën. Citroën deserve what they did because they are for the second time the manufacturers’ world champion* for the second time because they are the best. I have to say well done to Pechito too because it will be his second title soon and well done to all the guys which are behind us because without them we can’t do anything.

Q:
Obviously the car might be good but your overtaking move on Gabriele was fantastic. Can you explain your approach and how you pulled it off?

YM:
From the beginning of the second race Gabriele was a little faster than me but I was looking after my tyres and maybe step-by-step I could come back to him. Then on the back straight he closed the door at the end of the straight before turn 14 and I knew that would be the only opportunity to overtake him. I know him and I used that opportunity and fortunately it worked.

Q:
Turning to Sébastien and another podium for you in the WTCC. After the restart in race one, was that perhaps your moment to pass Yvan and by not being able to do so did you lose the opportunity to try to catch and pass José for the lead?

SL:
For sure it was difficult to overtake between us and when it’s a Citroën top three it’s always difficult to overtake the one in front. It was a long straight bu a long corner before and you lose the grip so it’s difficult to keep the contact and so that was it. I tried to push for sure and in the first two or three laps I tried to get close and tried to pass but I couldn’t do that and after that I didn’t have any other opportunities. I tried to keep the contact but I couldn’t do much more.

Q:
Overall a satisfying weekend for you or a bit frustrating?

SL:
A bit frustrating for sure. I lost the points to Yvan for the second place, which is not the goal I had before I came here. The rhythm was good like always. Ma stalled in front of me and I had to avoid him so I lost a few places at the start but the rhythm is good. Now I just have to find a few more opportunities to overtake in the traffic.

Q:
Turning to Gabriele you had a bit of time off in race one after your retirement. What happened on the first lap for you in race one?

GT:
I was a little too fast coming from the outside and I touched a little bit Rob [Huff]. I was sideways with him. The wheel engaged and we broke the rear suspension. Fortunately I can re-join my garage, we have the time to change the rear suspension and we have the time to do two laps to see if the car was good.

Q:
Race two was much better but at the first corner you seemed to run a bit wide, which allowed Hugo Valente to come back at you. Could you talk us through that first lap please?

GT:
I was not too much optimistic. He touched me on the side and for this reason I cannot turn on the corner. I was a little bit wide and after we had the side touch.

Q:
After that you had quite a good lead but unfortunately could not keep it. What went through your mind when Yvan finally got ahead of you?

GT:
Unfortunately when I saw after the first few corners the three Citroëns were just behind me and I was expecting a very tough race. I try, I had new tyres on the front because I saved in qualifying and tried to do my best for the first few laps just to see if the gap was there and even gain something. But after a few laps I start to have a little too much understeer. Yvan closed the gap and after he was very strong on the straight and braking in the hairpin. I tried to defend my position but unfortunately on the acceleration coming down to the hairpin I missed my shift up and I lost the possibility to defend my position. Unfortunately for Pechito the gearbox worked perfectly after! It was the only small mistake of my second race.

Q:
Two victories for you in the Yokohama Drivers’ Trophy this weekend – could you summarise your two races?

MB:
For us, the team Sébastien Loeb Racing, we are very happy for these races because we start from P11 and it was very tough. We have been very close and we know that to fight to win one, two or three positions is something nice. But when I saw myself behind the three Citroëns and the LADA in the firs corner – I was very lucky also for some crashes – at the end we had a good race because in qualifying we do a mistake of strategy and at the end when we put on new tyres we missed by 10 seconds the chequered flag. So we didn’t do one lap with the new tyres in Q2. It was a shame and not good for me also but in the end we have a nice result and it’s good to go home from Shanghai with this result. We also have a very good car. Compared to last year… for sure last year I was very happy about my first victory in the world championship but this year I learn a lot about Citroën. It’s a good car consistently and I learn how to drive this car, it’s like a single-seater car and for sure this year I had more fun than last year’s race.

Q:
Turning to our local driver Ma Qing Hua I guess it wasn’t the weekend you were looking for after an excellent performance in qualifying. Can you explain what went wrong?

MQH:
It was very shame the weekend for me because me and my engineer and my car and everything was going so well through Free Practice. I was very comfortable on this track and this season we are coming very strong. I learned a lot from the previous races and we arrived to the qually and that was not bad. We didn’t get the pole position but the front row is a chance to win the race. But unfortunately my car had something wrong. At that moment I don’t believe I would stall because we did the practice with everything okay and I don’t understand why the car was not going. In the race my car was broken the driveshaft so nothing we could do and I came back to repair. Race two was okay, not the best because we still need to work on the set-up but because we didn’t finish race two we don’t have exactly the live data to work on. After eight or nine laps my tyres started to struggle and I lose the pace. It was not the best set-up for the race but for me, anyway, I am really happy to be part of Citroën Racing and really honoured for my team and happy for the team to win the manufacturers’ title again in WTCC. I hope in the future I can help as much as I can to be a part of that team.

Q:
Turning finally to Yvan Matton who, of course, runs the team that has taken the WTCC Manufacturers’ Championship title* for a second time and congratulations for that achievement. Can you explain how and why the team has been so successful for a second year running?

YM:
First of all I have to thank all my drivers. I have to thank them for all the work they did together and the fair play they had between them. Even if you have the best car in the world and the best team in the world and I am convinced I have the best team in the world. But without the drivers we are nothing and it’s thanks to them we are world champion. And thanks especially to Yvan because he joined us before everybody and one of the reasons maybe why we are two times champions is we were working with him before everybody and now we see the cars are closer and closer but we were able to beat them. It’s a big work from everybody, all the drivers for more than two years and also the team. And it’s like the drivers said it’s not only the people you see in the box but the people who are in the factory and stay all the year in the factory. They are not on the ground and not on the television but they are working very hard for all the drivers to get this success.

Q:
You mentioned the drivers. Are we going to see the same four drivers fighting for a third world title next year?

YM:
First we must finish the championship and after we will see what will be for next year.

Q:
And on the subject of the championship, José has a 75-point lead heading to the final two rounds. Do you expect the title to be decided in Thailand or do you think it will go to the final round in Qatar?

YM:
First the championship is never done until the end. Pechito is in a very good position but the drivers will have the freedom to do their own race until the end. I hope that one thing we will have is the races like today. In the second race the battle is really what we want from motorsport. Gabriele and José Maria were really great and the way Yvan was managing his race… I hope all the last four races are like the ones we had this afternoon.