Ballast only consolation for Rydell

The Swede is one of nine drivers that will be vying for the title at Macau next month, and after a weekend to forget in Spain he will be carrying less weight than his rivals.

"The only good thing about the weekend is that I go to Macau with less weight, as I still have a good chance of winning the championship," he said.

Rydell was dropped to 20th on the grid for race one after a yellow flag infringement in qualifying, and then broke his suspension in a collision with another car.

Starting from the back in race two, he was unable to climb through the field like Andy Priaulx, who finished eighth to score a crucial point.

"There was no way I was going to score in race two, I had a lot of understeer, so I thought there was no point in risking the car," said Rydell.

BMW driver Jorg Muller brought himself into the title equation at the weekend, but he expects Rydell to be strong in the championship decider.

"It's near impossible to know what to expect, but there are some SEAT drivers who don't have a lot of weight and Rydell especially has the experience there," he said.