Intro:

Wins for Jose Maria Lopez in round one - and victory for former World Rally Champion Sebastien Loeb in round two - of the World Touring Car Championship season-opener in Argentina on Sunday (March 8).

Script:

The 2015 World Touring Car Championship roared into life at the Autodromo Termas de Rio Hondo in Argentina on Sunday - with the first two rounds of the season.

Jose Maria Lopez made the best possible start to the new term by securing the win in round one.

The home hero overcame an early challenge from Citroen team-mate Yvan Muller to claim a standout victory.

Galvanised by an estimated 40,000 fans, Lopez beat Muller and fellow Citroen driver Sebastien Loeb

While Tiago Monteiro and Gabriele Tarquini finished fourth and fifth respectively for Honda.

It was an incident packed race with John Filippi and team-mate Hugo Valente both crashing out.

Round two saw Lopez again on the pace - but ultimately failing to make it two from two in South America.

The plaudits - and the top step of the podium - belonged to former multiple World Rally Champion Sebastien Loeb.

The Frenchman started from eighth on the grid and hit the front when Citroen team-mate Ma Qing Hua ran wide.

He held off Lopez to the finish line, building his winning margin to almost five seconds.

While the final place on the podium saw a battle between fellow Honda drivers, with Monteiro eventually beating Tarquini to it.