World Champion Lopez to Start WTCC Race of Qatar in Pole Position

Doha, November 27 (QNA) - Jose Maria Lopez will start the FIA World Touring Car Championship's first-ever night race from the pole position after he set the pace in qualifying for WTCC DHL Race of Qatar on Friday. World champion Lopez, in a factory Citroen, was the last driver to set his lap in the Q3 showdown and excelled by outpacing his rivals Mehdi Bennani, the top Yokohama Drivers' Trophy contender, Sebastien Loeb, Hugo Valente and Nicky Catsburg to land pole for the seventh time this season and the 14th of his WTCC career. Honda driver Norbert Michelisz thought he had made it into Q3 only for LADA pilot Catsburg to knock him out in a dramatic finish to Q2. Ma Qing Hua and Yvan Muller, who is in a close battle for Loeb for the runner-up spot, were also unable to make it into Q3. Michelisz's lead over Bennani in the Yokohama Drivers' Trophy has been trimmed to points after Bennani picked up a point for setting the category pole. John Filippi was P10 in Qualifying Q2 and will therefore start the reverse-grid second race from top spot with Tom Coronel, who qualified ninth, alongside in a similar Chevrolet. Tiago Monteiro and Nicolas Lapierre were P11 and P12 respectively. Qatari driver Nasser Al-Attiyah finished in 18th place with a time of 2.02.883 minutes in Q1, which was enough to qualify him for the official races. He didn't take part in Q2 and Q3. (QNA)