Muller clinches title while Menu wins
Yvan Muller clinched the World Touring Car Championship title in the first of Macau's two races on Sunday, after finishing third behind race winner Alain Menu and runner-up Andy Priaulx
Muller headed into this weekend's season finale at Macau with a 14-point advantage over SEAT teammate Gabriele Tarquini - knowing that only bad luck would cost him the crown.
In the first of the two races around the famous Guia circuit, Tarquini failed to close the gap enough to keep the title fight open until the second event as he finished seventh.
As Menu secured a lights-to-flag victory ahead of outgoing WTCC champion Priaulx, who had closed right onto the leading Chevrolet's tail in the final laps, Muller had to work hard to earn the final podium spot.
Muller ran fifth in the early stages of the race, but moved up one position when Rob Huff lost places after a side-by-side duel for second with Priaulx through Lisboa and San Francisco Bend on lap two.
Muller then moved up to third when SEAT teammate Rickard Rydell slowed with a suspected engine problem on lap four.
Things were not so easy for Muller, though, as he faced continued pressure from Huff and BMW's August Farfus in the closing stages of the race - with Tarquini playing a watching game in seventh spot.
In the end, Muller was able to hold onto third, with Farfus getting past Huff for fourth on the penultimate lap. Behind them, Gene took sixth with Tarquini seventh.
Pos Driver Car Gap
1. Alain Menu Chevrolet 23:10.203
2. Andy Priaulx BMW +0.523
3. Yvan Muller SEAT +8.581
4. Augusto Farfus BMW +9.335
5. Robert Huff Chevrolet +9.871
6. Jordi Gene SEAT +10.692
7. Gabriele Tarquini SEAT +11.218
8. James Thompson Honda +12.080
9. Nicola Larini Chevrolet +12.909
10. Jorg Muller BMW +14.225
11. Tiago Monteiro SEAT +20.709
12. Sergio Hernandez BMW +21.424
13. Andre Couto Honda +27.748
14. Felix Porteiro BMW +39.963
15. Franz Engstler BMW +42.327
16. Manabu Orido Chevrolet +58.798
17. Matthew Marsh BMW +1:02.085
18. Ibrahim Okyay BMW +1:16.761
19. George Tanev BMW +1:17.365
20. Andrey Romanov BMW +1:27.912
21. Jaap van Lagen Lada +1:47.871
Retirements
Tom Coronel SEAT 8 laps
Alex Zanardi BMW 6 laps
Takayuki Aoki BMW 5 laps
Rickard Rydell SEAT 4 laps
Melvin Choo BMW 4 laps
Kirill Ladygin Lada 3 laps
Masaki Kano BMW 1 laps
Fastest lap, Priaulx 2:33.327 on lap 6
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