WTCC: Lopez tigers to last-gasp Slovakia victory

Jose Maria Lopez took a thrilling World Touring Car Championship win in the second Slovakia Ring race, beating Honda's Tiago Monteiro and Lada's Nicky Catsburg to the flag.

Having led the opening stages having got a better start than Catsburg and teammate Yvan Muller, Citroen driver Lopez was forced to play second fiddle to Catsburg for much of the race after the Dutchman completed a fine switchback to take the lead. But Lopez and Monteiro gradually reeled the Lada driver in, and Lopez made a decisive move in his C-Elysee on the exit of the final corner on the penultimate lap to regain first place – a position that he held to the flag.

Monteiro passed Catsburg at the second corner on the final tour but the delay between Lopez's pass and his put paid to his hopes of a second victory of the day. The Honda driver nevertheless capped a fine weekend with second.

Catsburg clung on for third thereafter, defending robustly from the second Honda of Norbert Michelisz – who dropped a position himself at the finish after slight contact from Polestar's Thed Bjork at the final corner handed the Swede fourth, equaling Volvo's best finish in the WTCC in any of its previous programmes.

Michelisz limped home in fifth after picking up a puncture on the run to the line, ahead of polesitter Muller.

Muller made a tentative start from pole and found himself third after a clip from Catsburg sent him wide at Turn 1. He forfeited another position to Monteiro, before he and Rob Huff made contact while fighting for fifth, relegating the Frenchman to eighth before his recovery.

Sebastien Loeb Racing's Mehdi Bennani and Tom Chilton finished seventh and eighth in their Citroen C-Elysees. Huff retired from fifth with two laps remaining, ending his race in the gravel trap.

RESULTS - 12 LAPS:

Originally on Autosport.com