Muller and Loeb declare WTCC title fight alive despite Lopez lead

Speaking ahead of the two Nurburgring Nordschleife races, where he and Lopez shared a win apiece, Muller backtracked on a previous claim that he had given up on the world championship after a poor weekend at the Hungaroring.

"You know why I said that? Because when 10 guys ask me the same question, the 10th time I just changed my mind because I've had enough repeating the same thing," he said.

"So it was just a bullshit. I didn't think so many people would take it. Nobody took the nine-times answer."

Though Lopez now has a 50-point lead after claiming a win and a second-place finish in Germany, Muller has closed to one point behind Loeb, who is currently second in the standings.

Loeb finished second to Lopez in the first Nurburgring WTCC race, then was a disappointed fifth in the second as Muller claimed a narrow victory.

But the nine-time World Rally champion believes he still he has a chance of catching Lopez in the points with a strong run in the coming races.

"I still hope we can do something," said Loeb. "We have the chance in the next few races to change the tendency that he wins all the time.

"It's getting close [with Muller] now. The first [Nurburgring] race was very good but in the second, in the first corner, I had the choice to either go on the grass or brake and go behind other cars, so I lost a couple of places.

"I'm disappointed with that because I had the speed to do better in the second race."

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