After the opening round of the season, José María López was leading the drivers' championship by one point over of teammate Sébastien Loeb. Franz Engstler was leading the Yokohama Trophy for drivers in TC2 specification cars.
After a crash in race two caused significant damage to his car, Tom Coronel missed the French round while his Chevrolet RML Cruze TC1 was repaired.[1]Mehdi Bennani came into the weekend with a three–place grid penalty for race one having been deemed to have caused the collision.[2]
Muller set the pace once again in the second part of qualifying ahead of his Citroën team mates. Gabriele Tarquini in fifth put a Honda through to Q3 for the first time this season.
In the Q3 shoot–out it was Loeb who came out on top to claim his first WTCC pole position with López and Muller second and third. Tarquini was fourth ahead of the Chevrolet of Valente.[6]
Loeb and López were later excluded from qualifying due to an error with their automatic fuel cut-off systems. They would start at the back for both races with Muller gaining pole position for race one and Mehdi Bennani promoted to pole for race two.[7]
Race Oneedit
The race began on a damp track, Muller got a slow start and was passed by Tarquini and Michelisz before the first corner. Muller regained the lead on lap three while Valente was under pressure from Huff who had put himself up to fifth place with a good start. By lap three Loeb had worked his way up to sixth place and the Frenchman made the move at the start of lap four. Loeb then took fourth from Valente and Huff followed him through to demote Valente again. Loeb had eventually fought his way up to third behind Tarquini while López was delayed by the Lada of Huff who he finally cleared on lap seven. On lap ten Michelisz came together with López, sending the Citroën sideways although neither car sustained damage and they continued in fourth and fifth. After a number of laps fighting over second place, Tarquini made a mistake over one of the kerbs and this allowed Loeb to close in and pass the Honda. Further back Valente tried a pass up the inside of Huff although the Chevrolet lost grip and had a near-miss with Huff and Michelisz. Shortly after Huff and Valente moved up to fifth and sixth at the expense of Michelisz. Muller claimed his first win of the season with Loeb second and Tarquini on degrading tyres third. Engstler finished 16th and was the Yokohama Trophy winner.[8]
Race Twoedit
Monteiro leapt ahead of Bennani at the start, Morbidelli was spun around further back in the pack by Chilton. At the end of lap two Muller and Loeb collided as Muller tried to go up the inside of his teammate. On lap five Tarquini passed Bennani to move up to second behind Monteiro who had put a gap between himself and the rest of the field. Both López and Muller then moved up ahead of Bennani in their pursuit of the factory Hondas. On lap seven Tarquini made a mistake at the chicane which allowed López and Muller through. At this point Loeb took out one of the tyre stacks while attempting a pass on Dušan Borković and the debris on the track led to the safety car being brought out. The race was restarted on lap 10, Monteiro defended from López immediately as the Citroën tried to go around the outside at the first corner. This opened the door for Muller to try to pass López for second place. At the back of the field John Filippi collided with Engstler which brought out the safety car for a second time, Chilton meanwhile was issued with a drive–through penalty for causing the collision with Morbidelli on the opening lap. The race resumed on lap 12, Loeb tried to pass Borković at the first corner and the pair came together with Loeb being pushed into a half spin. On lap 14 López passed Monteiro to take the lead, Muller followed through and took part of Monteiro's front bumper off as he went through. On lap 17 Valente drifted wide allowing Huff to have a look, the pair touched with Valente going wide and Morbidelli behind saw an opportunity to pass and move himself up to ninth place. Loeb had passed Borković after a number of laps and was now looking to catch Bennani, he had a lunge at the first corner. At the front López led Muller home at the checkered flag with Monteiro taking the final podium spot. Engstler took the Yokohama Trophy victory once again.[9]
Note: Only the top five positions are included for both sets of drivers' standings.
Referencesedit
^. World Touring Car Championship. Kigema Sport Organisation. 16 April 2014. Archived from the original on 18 April 2014. Retrieved 17 April 2014.
^. World Touring Car Championship. Kigema Sport Organisation. 13 April 2014. Archived from the original on 14 April 2014. Retrieved 17 April 2014.
^. World Touring Car Championship. Kigema Sport Organisation. 18 April 2014. Archived from the original on 19 April 2014. Retrieved 19 April 2014.
^. World Touring Car Championship. Kigema Sport Organisation. 19 April 2014. Archived from the original on 19 April 2014. Retrieved 19 April 2014.
^"Valente goes fastest in second practice". Touring-Cars.net. Andrew Abbott. 19 April 2014. Retrieved 19 April 2014.
^Mills, Peter (19 April 2014). "Paul Ricard WTCC: Sebastien Loeb scores maiden pole position". Autosport. Haymarket Publications. Retrieved 19 April 2014.
^ abHudson, Neil (19 April 2014). "Citroën's Loeb and López excluded from qualifying in France". TouringCarTimes. Mediaempire Stockholm AB. Retrieved 19 April 2014.
^Mills, Peter (20 April 2014). "Paul Ricard WTCC: Muller wins, Loeb charges from last to second". Autosport. Haymarket Publications. Retrieved 20 April 2014.
^"López denies Honda first win of season". Touring-Cars.net. Andrew Abbott. 20 April 2014. Retrieved 20 April 2014.
2014, wtcc, race, france, formally, wtcc, kenwood, race, france, second, round, 2014, world, touring, championship, season, sixth, running, wtcc, race, france, held, april, 2014, circuit, paul, ricard, castellet, france, race, detailsround, 2014, world, tourin. The 2014 FIA WTCC Race of France formally the FIA WTCC JVC Kenwood Race of France was the second round of the 2014 World Touring Car Championship season and the sixth running of the FIA WTCC Race of France It was held on 20 April 2014 at the Circuit Paul Ricard in Le Castellet France 2014 FIA WTCC Race of FranceRace detailsRound 2 of 12 in the 2014 World Touring Car Championship at Circuit Paul Ricard in Le Castellet France Date20 April 2014LocationLe Castellet FranceCourseCircuit Paul Ricard3 841 kilometres 2 387 mi Race OneLaps16Pole positionDriverYvan MullerCitroen Total WTCCTime1 29 857PodiumFirstYvan MullerCitroen Total WTCCSecondSebastien LoebCitroen Total WTCCThirdGabriele TarquiniCastrol Honda TeamFastest LapDriverYvan MullerCitroen Total WTCCTime1 43 675Race TwoLaps18PodiumFirstJose Maria LopezCitroen Total WTCCSecondYvan MullerCitroen Total WTCCThirdTiago MonteiroCastrol Honda TeamFastest LapDriverJose Maria LopezCitroen Total WTCCTime1 31 468 Both races were won by Citroen Total WTCC reigning champion Yvan Muller won race one and Jose Maria Lopez won race two Contents 1 Background 2 Report 2 1 Testing and free practice 2 2 Qualifying 2 3 Race One 2 4 Race Two 3 Results 3 1 Qualifying 3 2 Race 1 3 3 Race 2 4 Standings after the event 5 References 6 External linksBackground editAfter the opening round of the season Jose Maria Lopez was leading the drivers championship by one point over of teammate Sebastien Loeb Franz Engstler was leading the Yokohama Trophy for drivers in TC2 specification cars After a crash in race two caused significant damage to his car Tom Coronel missed the French round while his Chevrolet RML Cruze TC1 was repaired 1 Mehdi Bennani came into the weekend with a three place grid penalty for race one having been deemed to have caused the collision 2 Report editTesting and free practice edit Lopez led a Citroen 1 2 in Friday testing he headed Loeb and the Zengo Motorsport Honda of Norbert Michelisz 3 Loeb headed Campos Racing s Hugo Valente in free practice one on Saturday The session was interrupted when Yvan Muller collided with a tyre stack and damaged his Citroen C Elysee WTCC 4 Valente was quickest in the second practice session with Tom Chilton in second making it a Chevrolet 1 2 5 Qualifying edit Muller was quickest in the first part of qualifying while the Lukoil Lada Sport drivers all missed out as Mikhail Kozlovskiy suffered a steering arm issue James Thompson stopped on the circuit and Robert Huff narrowly missed out on a Q2 place to Tiago Monteiro Muller set the pace once again in the second part of qualifying ahead of his Citroen team mates Gabriele Tarquini in fifth put a Honda through to Q3 for the first time this season In the Q3 shoot out it was Loeb who came out on top to claim his first WTCC pole position with Lopez and Muller second and third Tarquini was fourth ahead of the Chevrolet of Valente 6 Loeb and Lopez were later excluded from qualifying due to an error with their automatic fuel cut off systems They would start at the back for both races with Muller gaining pole position for race one and Mehdi Bennani promoted to pole for race two 7 Race One edit The race began on a damp track Muller got a slow start and was passed by Tarquini and Michelisz before the first corner Muller regained the lead on lap three while Valente was under pressure from Huff who had put himself up to fifth place with a good start By lap three Loeb had worked his way up to sixth place and the Frenchman made the move at the start of lap four Loeb then took fourth from Valente and Huff followed him through to demote Valente again Loeb had eventually fought his way up to third behind Tarquini while Lopez was delayed by the Lada of Huff who he finally cleared on lap seven On lap ten Michelisz came together with Lopez sending the Citroen sideways although neither car sustained damage and they continued in fourth and fifth After a number of laps fighting over second place Tarquini made a mistake over one of the kerbs and this allowed Loeb to close in and pass the Honda Further back Valente tried a pass up the inside of Huff although the Chevrolet lost grip and had a near miss with Huff and Michelisz Shortly after Huff and Valente moved up to fifth and sixth at the expense of Michelisz Muller claimed his first win of the season with Loeb second and Tarquini on degrading tyres third Engstler finished 16th and was the Yokohama Trophy winner 8 Race Two edit Monteiro leapt ahead of Bennani at the start Morbidelli was spun around further back in the pack by Chilton At the end of lap two Muller and Loeb collided as Muller tried to go up the inside of his teammate On lap five Tarquini passed Bennani to move up to second behind Monteiro who had put a gap between himself and the rest of the field Both Lopez and Muller then moved up ahead of Bennani in their pursuit of the factory Hondas On lap seven Tarquini made a mistake at the chicane which allowed Lopez and Muller through At this point Loeb took out one of the tyre stacks while attempting a pass on Dusan Borkovic and the debris on the track led to the safety car being brought out The race was restarted on lap 10 Monteiro defended from Lopez immediately as the Citroen tried to go around the outside at the first corner This opened the door for Muller to try to pass Lopez for second place At the back of the field John Filippi collided with Engstler which brought out the safety car for a second time Chilton meanwhile was issued with a drive through penalty for causing the collision with Morbidelli on the opening lap The race resumed on lap 12 Loeb tried to pass Borkovic at the first corner and the pair came together with Loeb being pushed into a half spin On lap 14 Lopez passed Monteiro to take the lead Muller followed through and took part of Monteiro s front bumper off as he went through On lap 17 Valente drifted wide allowing Huff to have a look the pair touched with Valente going wide and Morbidelli behind saw an opportunity to pass and move himself up to ninth place Loeb had passed Borkovic after a number of laps and was now looking to catch Bennani he had a lunge at the first corner At the front Lopez led Muller home at the checkered flag with Monteiro taking the final podium spot Engstler took the Yokohama Trophy victory once again 9 Results editQualifying edit Pos No Name Team Car C Q1 Q2 Q3 Points 1 1 nbsp Yvan Muller Citroen Total WTCC Citroen C Elysee WTCC TC1 1 30 269 1 29 566 1 29 857 5 2 2 nbsp Gabriele Tarquini Castrol Honda World Touring Car Team Honda Civic WTCC TC1 1 31 198 1 30 741 1 30 808 4 3 7 nbsp Hugo Valente Campos Racing Chevrolet RML Cruze TC1 TC1 1 30 644 1 30 451 1 31 139 3 4 5 nbsp Norbert Michelisz Zengo Motorsport Honda Civic WTCC TC1 1 31 110 1 30 751 2 5 3 nbsp Tom Chilton ROAL Motorsport Chevrolet RML Cruze TC1 TC1 1 30 932 1 30 897 1 6 98 nbsp Dusan Borkovic Campos Racing Chevrolet RML Cruze TC1 TC1 1 31 568 1 31 099 7 10 nbsp Gianni Morbidelli ALL INKL COM Munnich Motorsport Chevrolet RML Cruze TC1 TC1 1 31 042 1 31 207 8 18 nbsp Tiago Monteiro Castrol Honda World Touring Car Team Honda Civic WTCC TC1 1 31 693 1 31 224 9 77 nbsp Rene Munnich ALL INKL COM Munnich Motorsport Chevrolet RML Cruze TC1 TC1 1 31 239 1 31 345 10 25 nbsp Mehdi Bennani Proteam Racing Honda Civic WTCC TC1 1 31 487 1 32 458 11 12 nbsp Robert Huff Lukoil Lada Sport Lada Granta 1 6T TC1 1 32 142 12 11 nbsp James Thompson Lukoil Lada Sport Lada Granta 1 6T TC1 1 33 162 13 14 nbsp Mikhail Kozlovskiy Lukoil Lada Sport Lada Granta 1 6T TC1 1 34 210 14 27 nbsp John Filippi Campos Racing SEAT Leon WTCC TC2T 1 35 972 15 6 nbsp Franz Engstler Liqui Moly Team Engstler BMW 320 TC TC2T 1 36 022 16 8 nbsp Pasquale Di Sabatino Liqui Moly Team Engstler BMW 320 TC TC2T 1 36 083 107 time 1 36 587 EX1 9 nbsp Sebastien Loeb Citroen Total WTCC Citroen C Elysee WTCC TC1 Excluded EX1 37 nbsp Jose Maria Lopez Citroen Total WTCC Citroen C Elysee WTCC TC1 Excluded Bold denotes Pole position for second race 1 Loeb and Lopez were excluded from qualifying after their automatic fuel cut off systems were found not to be working during scrutineering 7 Race 1 edit Pos No Name Team Car C Laps Time Retired Grid Points 1 1 nbsp Yvan Muller Citroen Total WTCC Citroen C Elysee WTCC TC1 16 27 58 347 1 25 2 9 nbsp Sebastien Loeb Citroen Total WTCC Citroen C Elysee WTCC TC1 16 12 727 17 18 3 2 nbsp Gabriele Tarquini Castrol Honda World Touring Car Team Honda Civic WTCC TC1 16 15 026 2 15 4 37 nbsp Jose Maria Lopez Citroen Total WTCC Citroen C Elysee WTCC TC1 16 18 663 18 12 5 12 nbsp Robert Huff Lukoil Lada Sport Lada Granta 1 6T TC1 16 31 393 10 10 6 7 nbsp Hugo Valente Campos Racing Chevrolet RML Cruze TC1 TC1 16 34 415 3 8 7 5 nbsp Norbert Michelisz Zengo Motorsport Honda Civic WTCC TC1 16 34 896 4 6 8 18 nbsp Tiago Monteiro Castrol Honda World Touring Car Team Honda Civic WTCC TC1 16 37 918 8 4 9 3 nbsp Tom Chilton ROAL Motorsport Chevrolet RML Cruze TC1 TC1 16 41 014 5 2 10 11 nbsp James Thompson Lukoil Lada Sport Lada Granta 1 6T TC1 16 45 739 11 1 11 10 nbsp Gianni Morbidelli ALL INKL COM Munnich Motorsport Chevrolet RML Cruze TC1 TC1 16 48 720 7 12 77 nbsp Rene Munnich ALL INKL COM Munnich Motorsport Chevrolet RML Cruze TC1 TC1 16 49 234 9 13 25 nbsp Mehdi Bennani Proteam Racing Honda Civic WTCC TC1 16 57 136 13 14 98 nbsp Dusan Borkovic Campos Racing Chevrolet RML Cruze TC1 TC1 16 1 02 522 6 15 14 nbsp Mikhail Kozlovskiy Lukoil Lada Sport Lada Granta 1 6T TC1 16 1 05 813 12 16 6 nbsp Franz Engstler Liqui Moly Team Engstler BMW 320 TC TC2T 16 1 46 587 15 17 8 nbsp Pasquale Di Sabatino Liqui Moly Team Engstler BMW 320 TC TC2T 15 1 lap 16 18 27 nbsp John Filippi Campos Racing SEAT Leon WTCC TC2T 15 1 lap 14 Bold denotes Fastest lap Race 2 edit Pos No Name Team Car C Laps Time Retired Grid Points 1 37 nbsp Jose Maria Lopez Citroen Total WTCC Citroen C Elysee WTCC TC1 18 30 24 551 18 25 2 1 nbsp Yvan Muller Citroen Total WTCC Citroen C Elysee WTCC TC1 18 1 886 10 18 3 18 nbsp Tiago Monteiro Castrol Honda World Touring Car Team Honda Civic WTCC TC1 18 7 994 3 15 4 2 nbsp Gabriele Tarquini Castrol Honda World Touring Car Team Honda Civic WTCC TC1 18 8 459 9 12 5 25 nbsp Mehdi Bennani Proteam Racing Honda Civic WTCC TC1 18 17 407 1 10 6 9 nbsp Sebastien Loeb Citroen Total WTCC Citroen C Elysee WTCC TC1 18 17 924 17 8 7 98 nbsp Dusan Borkovic Campos Racing Chevrolet RML Cruze TC1 TC1 18 18 592 5 6 8 5 nbsp Norbert Michelisz Zengo Motorsport Honda Civic WTCC TC1 18 18 927 7 4 9 10 nbsp Gianni Morbidelli ALL INKL COM Munnich Motorsport Chevrolet RML Cruze TC1 TC1 18 20 531 4 2 10 7 nbsp Hugo Valente Campos Racing Chevrolet RML Cruze TC1 TC1 18 21 787 8 1 11 12 nbsp Robert Huff Lukoil Lada Sport Lada Granta 1 6T TC1 18 22 216 11 12 77 nbsp Rene Munnich ALL INKL COM Munnich Motorsport Chevrolet RML Cruze TC1 TC1 18 23 391 2 13 11 nbsp James Thompson Lukoil Lada Sport Lada Granta 1 6T TC1 18 25 800 12 14 14 nbsp Mikhail Kozlovskiy Lukoil Lada Sport Lada Granta 1 6T TC1 18 26 475 13 15 3 nbsp Tom Chilton ROAL Motorsport Chevrolet RML Cruze TC1 TC1 18 41 250 6 16 6 nbsp Franz Engstler Liqui Moly Team Engstler BMW 320 TC TC2T 18 44 222 15 17 8 nbsp Pasquale Di Sabatino Liqui Moly Team Engstler BMW 320 TC TC2T 18 46 048 16 Ret 27 nbsp John Filippi Campos Racing SEAT Leon WTCC TC2T 9 Race incident 14 Bold denotes Fastest lap Standings after the event editDrivers Championship standings Pos Driver Points nbsp 1 nbsp Jose Maria Lopez 85 nbsp 2 nbsp Sebastien Loeb 73 nbsp 2 3 nbsp Yvan Muller 65 nbsp 4 nbsp Gabriele Tarquini 31 nbsp 1 5 nbsp Hugo Valente 31 Yokohama Trophy standings Pos Driver Points nbsp 1 nbsp Franz Engstler 45 nbsp 2 nbsp Pasquale Di Sabatino 30 nbsp 3 nbsp John Filippi 21 Manufacturers Championship standings Pos Manufacturer Points nbsp 1 nbsp Citroen 186 nbsp 2 nbsp Honda 103 nbsp 3 nbsp Lada 75 Note Only the top five positions are included for both sets of drivers standings References edit TOM CORONEL TO MISS FRANCE World Touring Car Championship Kigema Sport Organisation 16 April 2014 Archived from the original on 18 April 2014 Retrieved 17 April 2014 BORKOVIC LOST ONE POSITION World Touring Car Championship Kigema Sport Organisation 13 April 2014 Archived from the original on 14 April 2014 Retrieved 17 April 2014 MICHELISZ CHASES THE CITROEN CARS World Touring Car Championship Kigema Sport Organisation 18 April 2014 Archived from the original on 19 April 2014 Retrieved 19 April 2014 PRACTICE 1 VALENTE RIGHT BEHIND LOEB World Touring Car Championship Kigema Sport Organisation 19 April 2014 Archived from the original on 19 April 2014 Retrieved 19 April 2014 Valente goes fastest in second practice Touring Cars net Andrew Abbott 19 April 2014 Retrieved 19 April 2014 Mills Peter 19 April 2014 Paul Ricard WTCC Sebastien Loeb scores maiden pole position Autosport Haymarket Publications Retrieved 19 April 2014 a b Hudson Neil 19 April 2014 Citroen s Loeb and Lopez excluded from qualifying in France TouringCarTimes Mediaempire Stockholm AB Retrieved 19 April 2014 Mills Peter 20 April 2014 Paul Ricard WTCC Muller wins Loeb charges from last to second Autosport Haymarket Publications Retrieved 20 April 2014 Lopez denies Honda first win of season Touring Cars net Andrew Abbott 20 April 2014 Retrieved 20 April 2014 External links editWorld Touring Car Championship official website World Touring Car Championship Previous race 2014 FIA WTCC Race of Morocco 2014 World Touring Car Championship season Next race 2014 FIA WTCC Race of Hungary Previous race 2009 FIA WTCC Race of France FIA WTCC Race of France Next race 2015 FIA WTCC Race of France Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title 2014 FIA WTCC Race of France amp oldid 1096027066, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
