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Yvan Muller says World Touring Car rival Rob Huff would have also been a deserving champion

Yvan Muller reckoned that Chevrolet team-mate Rob Huff deserved the title as much as him, after claiming his third world crown in Macau on Sunday

Although Huff won both races in Macau, Muller's third placed finish in the second event was enough to ensure that he walked away with the championship again.

Speaking afterwards, Muller praised Huff's efforts this year and, with only a three-point difference between them in the end, he reckoned there was little to ultimately separate them.

"Rob did a fantastic season," said Muller. "He gave me a hard time all year, and he deserves as well to win - there was only a three points difference. He did a fantastic season, as did all the team - and we cannot forget Alain [Menu] who did a fantastic season too. He had a lot of pole positions but was a bit unlucky, but otherwise he would be there. It is a strong team."

Muller admitted that he had faced a stressful time in the second Macau race because he knew he would need to move up the order from his grid position.

"I knew more or less before the first race what was the scenario, so I still tried to push but it was impossible to overtake Rob without risk," he said.

"I knew everything then had to be done in the second race. It would be a big probability that Rob would win that race, and the calculation we did was I had to be in fourth place - and when I was fourth I could breathe again. Then I got third too."

Muller believed that Chevrolet's strong form this season was the result of the efforts he and his team-mates had made to improve their car.

"It was a great season. The last five years I was always in the top two and that is probably the thing of which I am most proud.

"This year, the start of the season was not the best. I lost some points mid-season but I recovered and finally I am champion again. But at the same time I have to say thank you to all the Chevrolet team because we had the best car thanks to my team-mates. We worked together to make it the best car."

When asked if he was now focused on beating Andy Priaulx's record of three WTCC crowns, Muller said: "I am not a man of records, but for sure my motivation as you can imagine will be to win a fourth time - we will see. This season is over. I will appreciate that, and I will have a good break and we see in January when we start testing."

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