The making of the world's best tin-top driver

Yvan Muller announced last Thursday that he would step down from racing in the World Touring Car Championship at the end of the 2016 season, bringing to an end an 11-year stay in the series.

Four title successes - one with SEAT and three with Chevrolet - in six years in the late 2000s and early '10s marked Muller out as a contender for greatest touring car driver of all time. He holds all of the WTCC's records - from races won, to laps led, to points scored.

Muller has refused to rule out racing in the future, but the final rounds of the 2016 WTCC season will almost certainly be the last in regular competition for the 47-year-old. And while in recent years he's been left in the shade by Citroen team-mate Jose Maria Lopez, Muller will undoubtedly (and rightly) go down in history as one of the finest tin-top drivers.

But it wasn't just in world touring cars where Muller left his mark. From a career spanning almost 30 years, Autosport picks out some of the fiery Frenchman's highlights.

BRITISH F2, 1992
Often-forgotten 1992 British F2 success helps launch career

Diehard British race fans knew about Cathy Muller from her respectable British Formula 3 season in 1985, but her little brother would create a much bigger impression on his arrival seven years later to compete in the '92 British Formula 2 (Formula 3000 to you and me) Championship.

It wasn't the biggest field, but Muller won four races out of nine, and finished second in three other races, with the little Omegaland team to defeat drivers with known calibre such as Jason Elliott and Peter Kox to the title.

A misunderstanding over pace-car regulations cost Muller the chance to seal his title with a win, but he set a new lap record on his recovery drive to sixth.

UNDERDOG HEROICS WITH AUDI, BTCC, 1998
Muller proves his worth in troubled A4

Audi's switch to front-wheel drive for its A4 proved a flop in the 1998 British Touring Car Championship, but there was a silver lining: for the first time, Ingolstadt brought Muller to the series.

He stunned the cognoscenti with his flamboyant driving style, no better illustrated than in the famous 'Mansell' race at Donington: at one point, Muller exited Coppice in fifth place - and was in the lead by the time they crossed the start-finish line!

He finished back down in fifth, but regained a place from Nigel Mansell post-race when stewards sided with his version of a who-passed-who-under-the-safety-car inquest.

It would take until a trio of late-season podiums to better that result.

BRANDS HATCH BTCC, 1999
Brilliant double overtake at Paddock Hill sets up first win

While 1998 was trying at times, Muller excelled in '99 when his switch to the Vauxhall factory team resulted in him outscoring team-mate and double BTCC champion John Cleland by 68 points.

Muller only managed sixth in the standings as the car wasn't up to the Nissans, Hondas or Volvos that year. But Muller still found a way to perform.

Having finished on the podium in the second Silverstone race, the second round of the season, Muller claimed his first BTCC victory at Brands Hatch the next time out - and in stunning fashion.

Muller started the opening race in fourth and didn't trouble the leaders in the initial stages, but was promoted to third when Alain Menu spun out at McLaren after a safety car restart.

As leaders Laurent Aiello and Anthony Reid squabbled along the Brabham straight, Muller spotted his opportunity and ducked to the inside, slamming on the anchors at the last minute to dive into the lead at Paddock Hill bend.

It was Vauxhall's only victory of the year - Muller went on to claim three more podiums; the retiring Cleland scored none all season - and Muller's first of his storied BTCC career.

SILVERSTONE BTCC, 2001
Muller comes to blows with rival Plato

While this wasn't one of Muller's greatest days, it was one of the most tumultuous in his BTCC career.

He was fighting team-mate Jason Plato tooth and nail for the title, and things spilled over at Silverstone.

The Frenchman's Vauxhall Astra Coupe stuttered coming through Bridge corner and Plato took the chance to dive up the inside into Brooklands. Muller turned in and the two made contact.

Muller dragged his wounded machine across the line in third place behind Plato. It split the team in two, with the opposite sides of the garage not speaking to each other thereafter.

The pair came to blows on track at the following round at Donington, and then Plato snatched the title from Muller when his Astra caught fire in the final round at Brands Hatch.

THRUXTON BTCC, 2005
Another tiff with returning Plato

There was no love lost between Muller and Plato, and that needle continued in 2005 when Plato was driving for SEAT and they were again battling at the front.

Things boiled over at Thruxton when the pair were battling for a spot in the top three and collided going into the chicane.

It was a frightening moment for Muller, whose Astra Sport Hatch slewed fully sideways. The Frenchman planted the throttle and, in a cloud of tyre smoke, he managed to get the car back from the brink and didn't even lose a place.

He was not happy though, despite hanging on for third. He stepped from his car and climbed on to the rostrum.

"I am here to race, not to fucking die," he told BTCC trackside commentator Alan Hyde.

SANDOWN 500 V8 SUPERCARS, 2005
Aussie success with Lowndes

When Muller arrived in Melbourne for the 2005 Sandown 500 he must have been in a mixed frame of mind.

He was driving with Craig Lowndes, in a Triple Eight Ford - one of the best cars in the pitlane. But he was a man with no V8 Supercars experience and the weather forecast for the race was... well, typical of Melbourne in early spring.

Lowndes qualified second behind Holden's Garth Tander, but took the lead and stretched it to more than 20 seconds in the opening stint. Muller jumped in with the weather at its worst, but an extra pitstop held him up. He moved forward, at one stage passing Mark Skaife for the lead, as driver after driver fell off the track.

Lowndes had much to do in his final stint and executed the plan to perfection. In taking the victory he made Muller the first 'foreign' driver to win in V8 Supercars - not that he got to celebrate with the team. He was booked on a Sunday-night flight and, minutes after standing on the podium, was on his way to the airport.

The pair reunited for the Bathurst 1000 the following month, but their race was ruined when Lowndes had a stray wheel come through the screen and nearly kill him, and they had to finish the race with glass in the car. Muller even drove a stint with thermals and goggles!

FINAL ANDROS TITLES, 2006-07
Frenchman seals final success in ice racing series

Muller's exploits haven't just been limited to road racing. He took part in three World Rally Championship rounds on home soil between 2010 and '12, but arguably his most impressive achievement away from traditional circuits was on ice in the Andros trophy. He is the most decorated driver in series history, having won 10 titles and 48 races.

Muller was at his fired-up finest during his time with Kia. He claimed a hat-trick of titles in a Kia Rio despite complaining that officials were saddling him with a disproportionate level of ballast - more than the twice-previous championship winner, so Kia claimed.

"It was the hardest ice racing season in my career, and surely the most beautiful victory, even if I had to play a game I'm not used to," he said after the 2005/06 edition.

Muller completed his hat-trick the following season. A fan of driving sideways, he also contested his home round of the World Rallycross Championship at Loheac in 2015, but failed to make it into the finals.

WORLD DOMINATION IN WTCC, 2008
Title success with SEAT ends Priaulx and BMW's dominance

While the WTCC's modern era had started in fine fashion, there had been a familiar name at the top of the end-of-season standings each time: Andy Priaulx.

The Guernseyman had dominated the top-level touring car scene in his BMW for some time, with his first three WTCC crowns preceded by title success in the European Touring Car Championship from which the WTCC evolved.

Muller brought that run to an end emphatically in 2008, eventually winning the title by a commanding 26 points from SEAT team-mate Gabriele Tarquini.

"The championship was determined by one of the best touring car drivers on the planet driving a close to perfect season," wrote Autosport's then-WTCC correspondent Mark Glendenning.

Muller scored points in all-but-two races, and headed to the Macau finale with a near-unassailable lead. When nearest rival Tarquini shunted in qualifying, and started a few rows behind his team-mate, Muller was able to clinch the title with a round to spare with third place.

"All had their moments of glory, but none looked remotely as convincing as the Frenchman over the course of the season," Autosport concluded.

IMOLA WTCC, 2009
Patient approach paves path to victory

Although Muller missed out on a second crown by four points a year later, he proved at Imola just how fruitful the patient approach could be.

While Tarquini got into Rob Huff at the penultimate corner, Muller bided his time before picking off the pair after their coming together.

He then pounced on BMW drivers Sergio Hernandez and Alex Zanardi, boldly clinging to the outside line on the run off the first chicane, before making a move stick around the outside of the pair at Villeneuve.

That set the Frenchman up nicely to chase down race leader Menu, who he duly passed to win.

"Uncharacteristic mistakes at Brands and Oschersleben cost Muller a lot of points, yet he was still the man to beat," wrote Autosport's Steven English, who named Muller the number-one driver of 2009.

"Always a victory threat and just unflappable - particularly when chased by quicker cars."

RECORD-BREAKER IN THE WTCC, 2013
Muller becomes king of world tourers with fourth title

The final year of the WTCC's Super 2000 era is well remembered as an incredibly open season that produced 12 different winners - one for every round.

At the front of the pack, though, Muller was the consistent factor. Seven wins (the next-best total was three) marked the RML Chevrolet man out above the rest, and his winning margin of 189 points remains the largest in the history of the WTCC despite Lopez's recent domination.

Perhaps more importantly, though, a fourth title moved him clear of Priaulx as the series' most decorated champion.

It was a season that, in many ways, Muller made for himself. Chevrolet had withdrawn from the series at the end of 2012, but he worked hard to ensure he was able to stick around in the all-conquering Cruze.

Autosport's end-of-season verdict from Sam Tremayne: "Starting as pre-season favourite was no hindrance, as he proved by topping every session, qualifying on pole and triumphing in both races in the Monza season opener.

"That set the tone for a near-flawless campaign, with Muller simply easing away from the field thereafter."