Giovanardi tips Priaulx for title

With Priaulx having taken a dominant pole position for Sunday's finale, Giovanardi believes that his ninth slot on the grid and series leader Dirk Muller's sixth spot will not be enough to stop the reigning European Touring Car Champion claiming the crown.

"Macau is Macau and today we have seen that everything could happen here," said Giovanardi, referring to the four session stopping accidents that marred qualifying. "Therefore I feel in the same position as Dirk; nothing is lost yet.

"However I have to say that Andy managed to be very fast and moved a big step towards the title. Unless he's hit by bad luck on Sunday, it is difficult to imagine him losing the championship."

Giovanardi believes his hopes of challenging Priaulx for pole were wrecked by his two practice accidents - which left him chasing a good balance throughout qualifying.

"I could have been faster, but I have to blame my two incidents in practice that I wasn't. The team worked very well to repair my car, but they had to do it in a hurry and the final result was a car a bit out of balance.

"They will change something tomorrow and hopefully we will be more competitive on Sunday."  

Muller is not so downbeat about his chances, however.

He said: "We are still trying to work on the car and sixth place is almost as good as second at Macau. I expect there to be a lot of yellow flags so the field will bunch together. For the championship, I think it is looking quite good."