Present:
José María López, Citroën Total WTCC, first position race one
Yvan Muller, Citroën Total WTCC, first position race two
Mehdi Bennani, Sébastien Loeb Racing, second race one, Yokohama Drivers’ Trophy race one
Hugo Valente, Campos Racing, third position race one
Ma Qing Hua, Citroën Total WTCC, second position race two
Norbert Michelisz, Zengő Motorsport, third position race two, Yokohama Drivers’ Trophy race two
Nasser Saleh Al-Attiyah, Campos Racing, leading Qatari driver
Sébastien Loeb, Citroën Total WTCC, making final appearance in the WTCC

Q:
We start with you José, the world champion and now a winner of 10 races in one season for the second year running so congratulations for those achievements. But turning to the first race it looked kind of easy in terms of your winning margin but I guess it was far from that, right?

JML:
First I congratulate everyone here. It was a fantastic weekend for us. From the beginning we felt comfortable with the car. It was a track where there was not a lot of grip. We worked hard from the beginning, we managed to have a great car for the race, I thought it was really well balanced. I was pulling away a lot, which showed we have a fantastic car and it’s always nice to finish the season with a win. It’s a shame the season has finished because now there is a long wait but I cannot wait to be at the first race of next year.

Q:
Now your car looked very nice at the end of the first race but a little second-hand at the end of race two, which seemed to be very interesting for you. What actually happened?

JML:
It was interesting. The first corner was a bit hard and Seb was pushed out a bit in Turn 1 and I had to go to the outside, I didn’t have any choice. I took the dirty side, there was nowhere to turn. Finally I arrived in Turn 4 and I got hit from behind and lost many positions and I was position 12. The safety car didn’t help. There was a lot of time on the track behind the safety car and when I wanted to recover it was too late. I went through, I had fun, it was a nice race, tough but the second race is always a war when you start from the back. Thank you to Citroën and all the team. They did a fantastic job again. It has been a pleasure to share again the season with all the team, they are fantastic people, they are like a family to me and I would like to wish good luck to Seb in his new adventure. I hope I can go to my country in January and go to see him sweating a bit but of course go and cheer for him like I always did and it won’t be different this time.

Q:
Turning to Yvan, by winning race two you’ve beaten your team-mate Sébastien Loeb to the championship runner-up spot by a single point. Please can you give your reaction to that achievement?

YM:
For me the main target was to try to win at least one of the two races of the day and finally I could do it. The weekend was tough for us and I give a hard time to my team and to my boys but they did a fantastic job. Finally in the last race I had a very good pace and I was even faster in the race than in qualifying, which is a bit of surprise. But it was a good event for me and like José said I would like to thank all of the Citroën team, particularly all of my team-mates because the level of the team with four drivers working all together to push up the level and thanks to them and particularly to Seb. I wish him good luck for his future.

Q:
And a final word from you Yvan, you stay with the Citroën team for next year. Is the target a fifh world title?

YM:
If I would not have that in my mind I would not re-sign the contract so of course I am motivated on that. But José is a fast driver, he’s full of confidence and since two years he’s the best driver of the championship so it will be tough. But I want to try to take the challenge until the end.

Q:
Now there several champions here today and we have a new one and that’s Norbert Michelisz, winner of the Yokohama Drivers’ Trophy so congratulations on that achievement. How happy are you right now?

NM:
I’m really happy to be honest because I said many times for me that finishing as high as possible in the overall standings after last season is the main priority. But to be honest I had some extra pressure before this race weekend because watching Mehdi’s performance for the last two or three race weekends was really impressive. And I knew before arriving here I had to do a perfect weekend in terms of qualifying and race one and race two because he’s on top of his game. He also did the perfect weekend, finishing second in qualifying and on the podium in the first race and pushing hard in the second one. He really deserves also top spot in the standings. It was like it was with Mehdi finishing second in the standings and me just in front of him. I am sure we will have a big party tonight. I have to say a huge thank you and a big congratulations to my team. Looking from the outside I think people really underestimate the work the Zengő boys are putting in through all the weekends so I have to say thank you to them. When you are a drive you are always in the spotlight and people cheer for something but what they did was at least 50 per cent of this result so I’m also really happy for them.

Q:
Turning to Mehdi, not quite the title you were hoping for, especially after your fantastic performance in race one. Are you disappointed or still quite satisfied what you’ve done today?

MB:
For sure I am very satisfied because before the last two races I didn’t think that we would be very close to fight for the title. I know Norbi is a very quick and talented driver. Our weekend was also nearly perfect because we had a fight for the podium and for the pole position until the last minute. Norbi also did a fantastic weekend. We’ve won some points but it was not enough to win the championship but I’m very happy for what the team has done to help me learn the car and how to drive much quicker and much better and for the future I think we will be here.

Q:
Turning to Hugo Valente, Hugo it’s great to see you back on the podium after a frustrating couple of races so I guess you must be quite relieved with that result?

HV:
Yeah I’m very happy with the result and congratulations to everyone here, especially to Seb who is going to leave the championship next year. It was a pleasure racing with him and I remember taking a picture with him when I was 13 years old and now I’m racing against him so it was a good experience and I wish he could have stayed longer. Congrats to everyone else, Citroën and Norbert for his title. For me for my races it was great. Difficult races two great results and thanks to RML for developing the car and getting back on the right pace. It was difficult to overtake here and I was scared to start on the bad side of the track but both starts were good and finishing on the podium in race one we were the only driver to have finished two podiums in race one this season expect for Citroën and I’m happy about that.

Q:
Second in race two Ma and a good way to round out what has been a strong second half to the season for you. What are your feelings right now after the result today?

MQH:
First of all I want to say thanks to Citroën Total WTCC. It is my first full season in WTCC and I’ve been team-mates with very strong drivers, the top drivers in the world. It’s my honour for this moment. I am really enjoying this year. I just want to say thank you to all of them. This race was a difficult race, especially for me. But I learn a lot, for sure it’s a difficult race to do but I learn a lot for the future.

Q:
And will the future be in the World Touring Car Championship?

MQH:
I don’t know yet. I wish and I hope so but we will see.

Q:
Turning to Nasser, you’ve finished both races on your debut in the WTCC. Have you enjoyed the experience and what are the chances of more outings in the future?

NSA:
It’s very important to finish two races because I don’t have really any experience of this kind of race and I am really so happy to be with these top drivers and watching from behind, learning a lot. This was a fantastic weekend for me but never do I sweat like this, even in Dakar. But, okay, this was really enjoyable although I was looking when the laps would finish. But this is really good experience and I try to enjoy the December month and prepare myself for the next Dakar.

Q:
And finally to Sébastien Loeb… unfortunately this looks like being your last appearance in a WTCC press conference and we’re all very sad about that because it’s been an utter privilege to have you in the championship. Today perhaps wasn’t the result you were looking for in terms of the final classification but what did you think of today’s two races first of all?

SL:
For sure we had the target to try to keep the second place in the championship. We knew it would be tough and I knew Yvan would push hard. But, okay, it’s finishing really close. I don’t have any regrets, I think we did a great weekend, third in qualifying. In the first race I had a very good start, I went second but then I get a push and I lost two places. Then it’s really difficult to overtake on that track. I was following Hugo for all the race and I didn’t find any opportunity to pass. The second race was the same story, quite a good start in fourth position quite quickly. Then I was behind Norbi and he was defending his position really well. It’s always very difficult to get close to the car in front on this track because you have some fast corners where you lose because of the slipstream. I tried but nothing more to say. I have no regrets and third place will not change the future at all. It was like this and for the rest I had some great moments in this championship since two years. It was a very good experience for me. Coming from the rally it was completely another way to work and I had to learn a lot of things. You need to be very precise on the setting, on the driving, checking the data, it’s a completely different experience for me but I enjoyed it. I had a good fight with some good team-mates with a perfect car and I just want to thank Citroën for all that for the past and what we did for 15 years nearly now – I’m getting old like you heard from Hugo he was only 13 when I was driving! I just have some great memories of what we achieved with this team since 15 years. Okay, now we have to look forward. For sure it’s a bit emotional to be here for the last time with the team. But that’s like. I have to look in front, not behind and remember the good things.

Q:
But you’re still younger than Yvan so when you’ve finished winning Dakar several times why not come back to the World Touring Car Championship?

SL:
Yes! You never know. Nobody knows what will be the future. For the first time I am free to think to what I will do. I had a good experience in rallying, in touring car and now we will go to the Dakar. There are a few things more to do then I will have completed the loop.