Thanks to José María López and Tom Chilton, the Citroën C-Elysée WTCC notched up two more victories to maintain its unbeaten record in Argentina. The results at Termas de Río Hondo extend Citroën’s and Pechito’s leads in the World Championship standings. After a podium finish in the opening race, Yvan Muller is closing in on the runner-up spot.

After qualifying, the Citroën Total team decided to replace José María López’s engine, which was suffering from an issue that threatened to jeopardise its reliability . As per the rules, the Argentine driver was therefore relegated to the back of the field for the opening race.

Pechito started the early-afternoon encounter from eighteenth on the grid, rather than the tenth place originally assigned to him, while Yvan Muller lined up in seventh place.

When the lights went out, Tom Chilton took advantage of his front-row starting place to make sure he was the first man to the first corner in his SLR team Citroën C-Elysée WTCC. The Briton was followed by Filippi, Rob Huff and Yvan Muller, battling for a podium place after a perfect start!

Just before the halfway mark, Filippi cracked under the pressure exerted by his pursuers and gradually fell away. That allowed Yvan Muller to clinch third place, where he clung tightly to Huff’s tail. The four-time World Champion kept pushing, but could not find a way past, and finished the race in the same position. Tom Chilton produced a flawless race to secure his maiden victory in a Citroën.

Meanwhile, the Termas de Río Hondo crowd revelled in José María López’s remarkable comeback. Lying in fourteenth place after lap 1, the Argentine was in the top 10 two laps later. Spurred on by a crowd that erupted with joy each time he overtook a rival, Pechito hauled himself up into fifth place, giving him invaluable points in the overall standings.

The main race looked likely to be more straightforward for Pechito, who was starting from pole position! Yvan Muller, meanwhile, was fourth on the grid.

When the action began, however, Norbert Michelisz surprised everyone by leading at the first corner, with José María and Yvan neck-and-neck behind him on the long straight! With the Argentine just managing to hold off the Frenchman, the Citroën Total pair set about attacking Michelisz.

In so doing, Yvan forced him into an error. While trying to defend his position, Michelisz left the door open for Pechito to slip past and claim the lead! Muller immediately slipped in behind his teammate, but Michelisz ran into him. Citroën C-Elysée WTCC n°68 ended up in the gravel pit and rejoined the race down in fifth position.

There would be no further changes to the race order before the finish, with José María López picking up his seventh win of the season! He was thus able to thank the assembled spectators – a crowd worthy of the 24 Hours of Le Mans – for their unstinting support.

The result saw Pechito extend his World Championship lead to 117 points, while Yvan Muller climbed to third, just seven points off second spot. Citroën also widened the gap in the Manufacturer standings, its advantage now standing at 196 points.

WHAT THEY HAD TO SAYYves Matton, Team Principal, Citroën Racing: “One week on from Kris Meeke’s Rally Finland win, it seems like the summer is treating Citroën Racing well! It’s hugely satisfying to have produced two wins for Citroën Argentina. We witnessed a real team effort this weekend. The mechanics did an excellent job in changing José María López’s engine and he was able to return to winning ways in front of his home crowd. It’s important to highlight Yvan’s contribution to that success. By attacking Michelisz, he knew that he was paving the way for Pechito, and that proved decisive. Unfortunately, he didn’t get the result his performance deserved. Bravo, too, to Tom Chilton, who has won his first race with SLR and the Citroën C-Elysée WTCC. We couldn’t be in a better position in the World Championship, but we cannot rest on our laurels.”

José María López: “This weekend was really positive, results-wise. It was also a really emotional moment to win in front of my home crowd again. The team and I decided to replace the engine as we thought the circuit would give me the chance to work my way back up the field. The opening race was exciting. My Citroën C-Elysée performed perfectly and I managed to climb two places without risking wrecking the car. Norbi got a great start in the main race, a bit like at the Nürburgring. He then defended his position perfectly. I must thank Yvan. I think it would have been a lot harder for me to win had it not been for his move on Norbi. A pole position, a win and a fifth place bring me a little closer to my goal of a third consecutive title!”

Yvan Muller: “It wasn’t a good weekend for me. I had the car to win pole position, but I made a little mistake and that shaped the rest of my weekend. I got two good starts today. In the opening race, I was able to secure a podium place. I was in line for another good result in the second race, but Michelisz ran into me and that cost me second place. The battle for the Championship runner-up spot will be interesting, but it doesn’t really matter to me. What gives me real satisfaction is having scored important points for Citroën.”

RESULTS AND STANDINGSOPENING RACE

Tom Chilton (Citroën C-Elysée WTCC)Rob Huff (Honda Civic WTCC)Yvan Muller (Citroën C-Elysée WTCC)Tiago Monteiro (Honda Civic WTCC)José María López (Citroën C-Elysée WTCC)Norbert Michelisz (Honda Civic WTCC)Tom Coronel (Chevrolet RML Cruze TC1)Mehdi Bennani (Citroën C-Elysée WTCC)James Thompson (Chevrolet RML Cruze TC1)John Filippi (Chevrolet RML Cruze TC1)Thed Björk (Volvo S60 WTCC)Grégoire Demoustier (Citroën C-Elysée WTCC)Fastest lap: José-María López (1m45.994s)

MAIN RACE

José María López (Citroën C-Elysée WTCC)Tom Coronel (Chevrolet RML Cruze TC1)Rob Huff (Honda Civic WTCC)Tiago Monteiro (Honda Civic WTCC)Yvan Muller (Citroën C-Elysée WTCC)Esteban Guerrieri (Chevrolet RML Cruze TC1)Mehdi Bennani (Citroën C-Elysée WTCC)Norbert Michelisz (Honda Civic WTCC)Tom Chilton (Citroën C-Elysée WTCC)John Filippi (Chevrolet RML Cruze TC1)Fastest lap: José-María López (1m45.899s)

WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP: DRIVER STANDINGS

José-María López: 284 pointsTiago Monteiro: 167 ptsYvan Muller: 160 ptsRob Huff: 157 ptsMehdi Bennani: 144 ptsNorbert Michelisz: 143 ptsNick Catsburg: 139 ptsTom Chilton: 130 pts

WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP: MANUFACTURER STANDINGS

Citroën: 702 pointsHonda: 506 ptsLada: 406 ptsPolestar: 194 pts