José María López leads Citroën trio in race 1 at Marrakech

José María López took a triumphal victory for the Citroën Total WTCC team.

The Argentine crossed the line first ahead of team-mates Sébastien Loeb and Yvan Muller. The three C-Elisée cars led from lights to flag, creating a huge gap between them and the rest of the field.

Tom Chilton finished fourth, but only eight seconds behind; the Briton was followed by Borković, Monteiro and local hero Bennani.

Franz Engstler dominated the TC2T class from his team-mate Di Sabatino.

Key moments

Start – López takes perfect start ahead of Loeb, Muller, Chilton, Monteiro and Borković. Münnich cuts chicane and is penalized with a drive-through for jumping the start.

Lap 2 – Valente touches Bennani in turn 15 right ahead of Coronel. The Honda loses the rear bumper in the incident

Lap 4 – Borković attacks Monteiro at the braking of turn 15; in the contact Monteiro loses the rear bumber and fifth position.

Lap 5- The advantage of the Citroën trio reaches 7 seconds, with Loeb closing the gap on the leader, López.

Lap 6 – Huff in the pits (misfiring), Morbidelli passes Kozlovskiy for 12th. Loeb posts best lap time.

Lap 8 – Engstler leads comfortably in TC2T, ten seconds clear of Di Sabatino, with Filippi third.

Lap 9 – Coronel (front splitter) and Morbidelli (bodywork) in the pits.

Lap 11 – Valente jumps on the kerbs of the first chicane and loses a front dive plain.

Lap 12 – Münnich in the pits (bent steering).

Lap 13 – Bennani passes Michelisz for 7th in turn 5 and so does also Valente shortly after.

Lap 14 – Triple win for the Citroëns with López, Loeb and Müller in their WTCC debut.

FIA WTCC