Present:
José María López, Citroën Total WTCC, first position in Opening Race and Main Race
Tom Chilton, Sébastien Loeb Racing, second and third, WTCC Trophy winner in both races
Norbert Michelisz, Honda Racing Team JAS, third and second
Sabine Schmitz, ALL-INKL.COM Münnich Motorsport, leading German driver

Q:
A winner again at the Nürburgring Nordschleife not once but twice. Please talk us through the Opening Race?

JML:
Of course if there is a place where you want to win both races, you want to win everywhere but here it’s really special. I was very cautious with the celebrations. I like to think you can be a good winner and a good loser and today the first race I take the profit of an accident otherwise it was going to be very difficult. But it’s also important to be there and the team and everybody showed a fantastic advantage. At first I couldn’t take advantage of the slipstream because Yvan was taking the slipstream of Tiago so even if I was quicker my chances were disappearing because it was very difficult. I’m really happy to have the first win and it’s an extremely important boost for the championship for me.

Q: 
The incident with Tiago and Muller obviously looked very dramatic. Can you talk us through what you saw and how close were you to being involved yourself?

JML:
I’m glad they are okay especially Tiago, that’s the main thing. It was spectacular, like a PlayStation accident. I just saw the car hitting the barriers and flying three metres in the air. The only thing that came in my mind was that Ma [Qing Hua] crashed on the outside and came inside last year. I thought that at the beginning. Of course it was a high-speed accident and the inertia of the accident had the potential to bring the car to the inside. So I did that and I passed through really, really narrow. I was very lucky and after that I just tried to finish the race. I actually thought there was one lap to go but it was fantastic to win and to bring a trophy and the points home.

Q:
Norbert Michelisz gave you a hard time in the Main Race. What was the battle like with Norbi?

JML:
We didn’t really do a very good start and that’s why you can never take anything for granted. I was trying not to take any risks from my position. I did a very good start but Norbi did a fantastic start and he flew after the green light. I was watching my mirror and I could see him. Then he was not there and I saw him in the first corner. I tried to prepare my manoeuvre and I think I was more prepared with the car and it was a very nice move at high speed on the outside of the chicane. Of course it’s always possible to this kind of thing when you have a fair driver next to you. After that it was just a thinking race, trying to save the tyres, trying not to push too hard, and to think about the dangerous places. We had some cars that had blow ups with the tyres. We never had a problem but I was not in a position to risk too much. But to get the win again is fantastic. The fifth win of the year and I didn’t think this would be possible with the car at 80 kilos and struggling with the pace in testing. I’m very happy and it’s a big boost for the championship. Now we have to think about the races and how we can score the points. Hopefully it’s looking good.

Q:
That big boost is 69 points, which you take to Russia for the next race. What do you think about the Moscow Raceway, confident you can be just as successful there as you were here?

JML:
I think we are going to struggle. Moscow is always a very good track for Yvan, he likes it very much but this is the only track that’s been very difficult for me. Now I need to start to think of the championship. I have taken all the risks and won all the races I have to win and now it’s down to the other drivers to take risks and maybe I can take my foot off the gas. We will see what happens. It’s still a long way to go but it’s very nice to be in this position and I am sure everyone else would like to be in this position.

Q: 
Turning to Tom, congratulations, second in the opening race and third in the main race and the WTCC Trophy winner on both occasions. Two very eventful races, from your perspective what was it like out there?

TC: 
Well first of all I need to breathe before I can start talking. This circuit is the greatest racetrack in the world and words can’t tell you how amazing it is to sit here and to be second or third or win both the independence of the WTCC trophy that is and the car was amazing but it wasn’t easy you know. Yes, I got the fastest lap and here’s my beautiful TAG Heuer watch but I tell you what, every corner I thought I was going to crash and die so as fast as I was it wasn’t easy to be fast. You know sometimes you watch the Formula One race and you think ‘oh he has won by 50 seconds it’s easy’, but I tell you what that was not easy, it was really really hard. Every corner pretty much nearly had an accident, you can ask Rob Huff in the last race and you probably saw me oversteer several times and Tom Coronel behind me in the first race, actually I think a corner where Tom Coronel had a puncture I went through at about a 45-degree angle and almost flattened sixth gear because I was that slow, so while Tom’s drifting off with a puncture I’m understeering. So every corner was just very hard on all the drivers, all the drivers it was very hard on the car the driver and the tyres, I’m just so happy to here.

Q: 
You’ve said before being on podium here makes you feel like a rock star, so is that your feeling right now?

TC: 
Yeah, get your air guitar, I’ll say it, yes I feel like a rock star, and I’m sure all the others do.

Q: 
In that first race you were very close to catching López at the end, in your view was it close? Was there any sort of hope you could get through and take the lead from him?

TC: 
I was driving very well, but López I can only describe as Ayrton Senna reincarnated. He is Ayrton Senna of the touring cars. And as well as I was driving and Muller and everybody else on the circuit I think López even finds a way to back off even on the limit to protect his car in case he needs to protect his tyres and pull away again. He’s a very special driver and it’s a pleasure to race with him and learn from him actually. I’m getting better each race meeting as you can see and it’s great to learn off these two legends.

Q: 
Two podiums for you Norbi, that makes you really close to second place in the championship. From your point of view how was it out there as it looked very entertaining watching it live on WTCC Premium TV?

NM:
It was entertaining I have to say. After qualifying yesterday I was not expecting to fight with Pechito for the podium. In the first race I think I was lucky, the start was not very good and I was compromised by Nicky [Catsburg] almost stalling and I lost some time there. But I came home third because of many punctures and problems for the others. Of course as a racing driver seeing others go off in front of you is never a nice feeling. As you saw Tom Coronel had a puncture in a very dangerous place and you saw the accident Tiago and Yvan had is a bit scary I must say. The circuit in itself is a huge challenge but if you have to think about when a puncture is going to happen it’s not nice to drive here I must say. I tried to think about taking it easy in the first one. In the second one as soon as I realised I had the lead after the start I just thought I have to be somewhere in a position behind a car going onto the long straight because if I’m the first one I’ll be passed by two or three other cars. Pechito was really good because he overtook me so it was not like I let him pass but I think he just put the pressure on, it was not a mistake on my side, but he was just really clever on the outside and in that moment was able to pass me. Like I said for me it didn’t really matter and after this move I try to stay as close as possible to him and to go to the long straight. Every lap I try to be easy on the first three sectors and I try to push in the fourth one to make a gap to Tom because I see he has a really good pace also in the first three sectors and also, yes, some strong points in the fourth one. But I also could see from the mirror that I was a bit faster and I was just going for it after the third sector. But unfortunately we had some tyre problems but in the end I’m really happy because the tactics paid off and thanks to the team.

Q: 
You mentioned your team-mate Tiago Monteiro. Tiago has been taken to hospital for checks and we obviously hope everything is okay. Do you have a message for Tiago?

NM: 
Of course my message to Tiago is to get well soon, because I hear from the team he has some sore things. I like that he did not break his ribs because it was a huge impact into the barriers and also Yvan hitting him was a very dangerous moment. He is a friend of mine and I hope it doesn’t affect his season so get well soon Tiago.

Q: 
Turning to Sabine, for the second year you’ve scored a world championship point so congratulations for that. What was the Opening Race like for you?

SS:  
The opening race I had some touches on the first corner and [John] Filippi he pushed me onto the green stuff as well so I lost a couple of positions and I thought okay they’re playing and I didn’t know what was going on. A couple of accidents and many, many yellow flags in the first heat. I felt sorry for guys because there were lots of accidents in high speed corners so I hope they do not have injury and everyone is okay.

Q: 
And what about the Main Race, how was that?

SS:
I was so excited, I couldn’t wait for the second race and the start was better. I thought I was a little bit more from the front but I couldn’t keep up with everyone, including Valente and Tarquini, so I just follow. But then I had a problem with my left front tyre and finally on the last lap the tyre blow up and I came through the finish line on three tyres.

Q:
That sounds quite dramatic. Last year you said you would definitely come back to the WTCC, what about next year, will we see you back here in the World Touring Car Championship?

SS:
I want to come back for sure, I love this championship and some of the guys are quite old and I am quite old. It would be great to start again next year.

Questions from the floor:

Q: 
Neil Hudson (TouringCarTimes, Sweden) to José María López: Can you talk us through the second lap of the Opening Race again please?

JML:
For me everything started in the opening of the last lap. I tried to attack Yvan but I looked the brakes in the first corner and Chilton passed me. I lost a lot of time passing Tom and then I pushed very hard. At the point of the accident I was getting very close already. Then I saw Tiago suddenly hit the wall. Yvan braked and went straight into him. I tried to go to my right but everything happened very quick. After that I tried to finish the race and I asked if everyone was okay. They told me they saw Tiago getting out of the car and everything was okay. Of course one of the problems of the races being so close is that if you do an accident you are out for the second race, especially on a race like the Nordschleife, which is very long and the car cannot come back. That’s why it’s always very important to keep the car safe in the first race.

Q:
Jack Cozens (Autosport, UK) to to José María López: You appeared to slow in the final sector of the third lap?

JML:
On the last race I was not sure of the tyres. I didn’t want to take any risks. I saw I had enough of a gap but when you win of course you risk a margin and it wouldn’t be smart for me. I was trying to keep the gap and also taking care of the tyres because we had a doubt even though nothing happened to us. That’s why I was trying to keep the gap but saving the car and the tyres in the places where I could.

Q: 
Stefan Ziegler (Motorsport.com, Germany) to all drivers: Is it too dangerous to have the Yokohama tyre on the Nordschleife after we’ve seen a couple of punctures. What do you make of the situation?

NM: 
Driving like we did is too dangerous. I think Yokohama should be able to test around here because Nürburgring is so special compared to every other circuit. It’s difficult now to put the blame on anyone. For sure tyre failures are not nice to have but it’s also not fair to be driving on these tyres if Yokohama does not have the information about forces going onto the tyres. It’s dangerous as it is and we have to change for the future. Maybe having one test day just for tyre testing would be nice to avoid things like that for the future.

Q:
Stefan Ziegler (Motorsport.com, Germany) to Norbert Michelisz. Did you go to the limit on your tyre pressures or were you playing it safe?

NM:
Normally we were in a safe range compared to other tracks but it seems like we were not safe enough. As a racing car driver you don’t want to compromise, you want to drive as fast as possible and you hope nothing is going to happen. If you let us race there should be no risk with the pressures. Yokohama should have the information. It’s a complex situation and it’s difficult to put the blame on anyone but it has to be changed for the future.