Present:
Norbert Michelisz, Zengő Motorsport, first position, leading Yokohama Drivers’ Trophy contender
José María López, Citroën Total WTCC, second position
Sébastien Loeb, Citroën Total WTCC, third position

Q:
Congratulations on what was a dramatic qualifying for JVC KENWOOD WTCC Race of Japan. A few records were broken today – Citroën’s run of poles has come to an end, you’re the first independent to qualifying on pole this season, which means it’s also your first top start of 2015. How are you feeling right now?

NM:
On the way to this press conference I thought to myself these were the three most happy weeks of my life because of wedding, because of fantastic weekend so far and regarding pole position I said many times for me, okay, it’s good to win second races but for me the most important thing is to be there from the first corner. And to be honest we struggled with that all season. I knew we had some updates but I was not expecting a step like this so I have to say to everyone involved they did a fantastic job. Okay it was a good lap but without these improvements it would have been impossible to have this fantastic day. So once again thank you to everyone and hopefully tomorrow we will have another beautiful day.

Q:
Obviously this is Honda’s home race, which only increases the significance of what you’ve achieved today, but can you explain briefly what changes have been made to the car?

NM:
We knew from the beginning of the season which our weak points were. We did an intensive programme during the summer where I was able o join the factory team for one day of testing. I cannot go into details, I hope you can all understand, but, like I said, we know the weak points and I think in motorsport it’s very important to know where your strong points are but even more important to know exactly what your weak points are. We discovered many areas we have to improve and hopefully this is the first step in the right direction to fight constantly for this kind of position.

Q:
Three questions in one José please: what did you think of Norbi’s performance, did anything go wrong for you in Qualifying and was anything amiss with the car set-up today because Citroën wasn’t as quick as normal throughout the whole of today?

JML:
Nothing was wrong, Norbi being on pole doesn’t mean it’s wrong. We were not the quickest here and we know that. It was difficult and we have to work. But for Norbi I am so happy for him. First of all he’s a great person, which is the most important thing. Secondly he is a great driver because it was all up to him. For sure the Honda improved but he is the one driving the car so congratulations to him and all the Zengő team. From my side and the team’s side we are happy. We knew it was going to be very difficult so I think we overcome. It was a little more than what we expected because we were a little afraid after the first practice, including myself. But when I put the new tyres on in Qualifying everything changed. I cam back with confidence and I thought that in the end, for me, personally speaking it’s like a pole because I am in front of my team-mates and for the fight for the championship it’s important. I am also very happy for the team because after Norbi there is four Citroëns behind him so it was a very strong Qualifying for us and we see tomorrow. It’s going to be another day and it will be very nice to see what happens.

Q:
Earlier this week we asked you about the championship and you said that even with a 55-point lead you were still fighting for the title. Your lead is now 59 points so will your strategy still be the same tomorrow to push for that victory to get the championship sooner rather than later?

JML:
The strategy is the same. I just need to try to get the best position for the team, for me, for everybody. I know I have a good lead but during the whole year it’s been very tight between us. Today Seb was really strong and just missed a little bit in Qualifying but his performance was really strong. I have to collect my cards. I know I have a good difference in the championship and of course I’m always watching what Yvan [Muller] and Seb are doing. It will be a really bad situation to go off or have a silly mistake and lose the difference that I work for all the year in one race. For me the races I had to win I won and when I had to take risks I took them. Now I need to score points and they are under pressure to take risks. They have to catch up so I need to play a bit with that and keep doing the same. I cannot relax. It’s very difficult to take away some points but it’s also very difficult to go away in the points. If you have a bad situation in one weekend you can lose quickly 40 points. I think everybody would like to be in my position but I won’t relay. I will try to keep focused and help the team achieve the goals they have.

Q:
Turning to you Sébastien you’re a driver who has achieved big success in Japan in the past during your career in the WRC but what about your performance in Qualifying to go third fastest – are you satisfied with that or was there something you could have done differently?

SL:
I am satisfied because I think I did quite a good job. The other guys were just a little bit quicker so I have to congratulate them. We are always looking for perfection in Q3. I had a good lap with no real mistakes, a little bit here and there, but I had a good testing session and times in Free Practice and now third in Qualifying is looking good.

Q:
Obviously you made it to Q3 but your team-mate Yvan Muller did not, which could be significant in the battle for second in the championship. What do you think about that, is there a chance of getting second and is that now your target this weekend?

SL:
Honestly I don’t know the gap but I know it’s not just depending for me, it’s depending on what he’s doing, what Pechito [López] is doing. I am just concentrating on my races, I don’t focus on this position. I try to do my best every time and we will see. For sure today I am in a better position than him but with the opposite in the second race you never know. I just try to do some good races and after that we see again.

Questions from the floor:

Q:
Your last pole position was in a Honda in Japan so is there a special reason for this and do you think you can win the race tomorrow?

NM:
I think this weekend so far is very similar compared to Suzuka three years ago. The memories I have from there are really fantastic. I just have the feeling that under pressure… I have a home event in Hungary and with the extra pressure I manage to get some good results and we have a similar amount of extra pressure in Japan to get some good results because it’s the home event for Honda. I know how important it is for Honda people and Honda employees to have their car on their home circuit just in front and maybe it’s helping me as a driver to get the maximum out of myself. In Q3 I was not playing for a safe lap. I knew it would be difficult to improve my lap time from Q2 but you rarely have chances to fight for pole positions, certainly in the last few years, so I just said to myself I had to give it everything and tomorrow I will do the same. I already won a race this season, I’ve finished on the podium. A win is difficult to compare to anything else but I think I will go for it.

Final question:

Q:
Everyone here is aware of the recent typhoon and the damage and distress that has caused. What is your message to the people of Japan who are suffering right now?

NM:
We have to remember sometimes how lucky a position we are in. Our problems look ridiculous sometimes compared to the problems that some of the people in the world have. My message to the people affected by the flooding is that the thoughts of every member of the WTCC family are with them. We hope the situation will change rapidly and I really hope for the best for them.