ROUNDS 23 & 24 - MACAU RACE REPORT MULLER IS WORLD CHAMPION FOR THE THIRD TIME

ROUNDS 23 & 24 - MACAU
RACE REPORT

MULLER IS WORLD CHAMPION FOR THE THIRD TIME
Yvan Muller grabbed his third World Touring Car Championship title, beating his Chevrolet team-mate Rob Huff by only three points after 24 rounds.
Until the last race Huff left no stone unturned in the attempt to revert a situation that saw him twenty points behind before the season finale at Macau. However, not even the two victories he obtained today - that made him the most winning WTCC driver on the Guia circuit, with five successes - were enough.
After putting a lot of pressure on Huff during the first race, when he was lying second, Muller was able to maintain concentration, avoiding the risks and pocketing two podium results that were worth the title.
This was the icing on the Chevrolet's cake at the end of a season that was largely dominated by the brand of the GM Group and the Cruze cars admirably prepared and run by RML. Figures say it all: 21 victories out of 24 races, 12 pole positions out of 12, 19 fastest laps out of 24, 256 laps led out of 347.
No wonder then that Muller, Huff and Alain Menu (who had no luck today, being involved in a first race accident that sidelined him for good) filled the championship podium.
A few other drivers showed off today. Gabriele Tarquini and Tom Coronel were able to escort Huff and Muller on the podiums, confirming that they were the best of the rest. Coronel ranked fourth in the final standings and Tarquini fifth.
Like Huff, Michel Nikyær had the difficult task to recover a lot of points in the Yokohama Trophy. Like Huff he won both races. And like Huff he lost the title by a few points (only two) to Kristian Poulsen.
Now the championship faces a 110-day break before the 2012 season kicks off at Monza on March 11.

RACE 1 - HUFF REDUCES GAP TO 13 POINTS
Rob Huff won the first race at Macau, keeping his team-mate and championship leader Yvan Muller at bay during a race that was neutralized twice by the safety car. This result meant that the Briton reduced his gap from Muller to 13 points, keeping alive his chances to be sacred world champion in the second race.
For the whole distance Muller put strong pressure on Huff, changing line at every braking point in the attempt to push him to make a mistake. In spite of this, Huff remained cool and focused, avoiding to open the least of a gap.
Gabriele Tarquini collected another podium result ahead of Tom Coronel, while Michel Nikyær finished in fifth winning the Yokohama Trophy, while Kristian Poulsen clinched the title even before the final race. Joe Rosa-Merszei claimed victory in the Jay-Ten Trophy.

RACE 2 - HUFF WINS, MULLER IS CHAMPION
Rob Huff encored, claiming a second dominant victory, but he lost the world title to Yvan Muller by three points only.
The Briton tried his best to recover the 13-point gap and managed to overtake Michel Nikyær and Tom Coronel (who had taken a fantastic start from the second row) on his way to another race win. However, Muller was in a position to control without taking too many risks.
For six laps, two of them behind the safety car, Huff and Muller were equal for points and the number of victories (eight each); and yet the Frenchman would have been champion because of the second places (eight against six). Eventually Muller settled the situation by moving up to third, ahead of Nikyær.
The latter won again the Yokohama Trophy race, beating Mehdi Bennani who obtained his best result ever - sixth - in WTCC, while Joe Rosa-Merszei claimed his second victory in the Jay-Ten Trophy.

WTCC Guia Race of Macau - Circuito da Guia - 18 / 20 November 2011
www.fiawtcc.com - www.macau.grandprix.gov.mo

Fabio Ravaioli - FIA WTCC Media Delegate

ROUNDS 23 & 24 - MACAU QUALIFYING REPORT HUFF AND MULLER SHARE THE FRONT ROW

ROUNDS 23 & 24 - MACAU QUALIFYING REPORT HUFF AND MULLER SHARE THE FRONT ROW The fight for the Drivers' world championship will have an exciting showdown on Sunday at Macau after Chevrolet team-mates and title contenders Rob Huff and Yvan Muller managed to qualify on the front row for Race 1. Huff, who is chasing Muller twenty points behind, claimed his fourth pole position of the season. The first for him after those in the three opening events at Curitiba, Zolder and Monza. This also meant that Chevrolet completed a clean sweep in qualifying, winning twelve pole positions out of twelve events, that were equally shared between their three drivers. Thanks to his advantage, Muller was not obliged to take too many risks and the second position will give the opportunity to control his younger team-mate. For the third Chevrolet man, Alain Menu, qualifying turned to black as he failed to make it to Q2 because of an accident. This enabled Gabriele Tarquini to qualify third and local hero Darryl O'Young to achieve his best qualifying result ever. The session had a curious end, as Huff stopped along the track after posting the fastest lap. It was not because of a mechanical failure, but cramps to his left calf! Q1 - Robert Dahlgren set the fastest time in the first part of the qualifying session, completing a lap in 2:32.881. The Swede ousted Yvan Muller who had posted a provisional fastest time of 2:33.353 in the early minutes. As usual Q1 provided lot of drama, with the drivers fighting to win places for Q2. Some of them took extra risks, like Alain Menu who made contact with Andre Couto car before the Dona Maria Bend while trying to improve from his 13th position. Charles Ng was another victim, crashing into the concrete wall at the Fishermen's Bend just before the chequered flag was waved. The latest minutes saw Darryl O'Young posting the second fastest lap (2:33.177), demoting Muller to third. André Couto moved up to fourth (2:33.954) and Tiago Monteiro failed to make the cut by only 0.088 seconds. The following drivers advanced to Q2: Dahlgren, O'Young, Muller, Couto, Bennani, Tarquini, Coronel, Huff, Nykjær and Engstler who will start on pole for tomorrow's second race. Q2 - Drivers did not even have the time to complete the first lap that they were stopped by the red flag after Robert Dahlgren crashed his Volvo C30 at Paiol. The car caught fire, but the driver managed to come out by himself with a broken thumb. The marshals had to clean the track from the oil spilled by the Volvo engine and the session resumed after 25 minutes. Huff and Muller posted provisional fastest laps on the first attempt: 2:31.868 and 2:32.027 respectively. In the late stages Coronel improved to 2:33.825 that gave him a provisional third place. However, the last tries reshuffled the positions. Muller retook the lead with a lap of 2:31.149, but just for the time Huff crossed the line claiming pole position with the time of 2:30.881. The final drivers to take the flags were Gabriele Tarquini (2:32.147) and O'Young (2:32.519) who qualified third and fourth respectively, with the Chinese racer on pole for the Yokohama Trophy. BARTH AND DAHLGREN ESCAPE HEAVY CRASHS Fredy Barth and Robert Dahlgren escaped heavy crashes at the fast Paiol bend. The Swiss driver hit the concrete wall during the second practice and after the impact remained unconscious inside his car on fire. Marshals and firemen managed to extricate him and extinguish the flames. Barth was conscious and unscathed, although intoxicated for breathing the fire's smoke. He was taken to the hospital, where medical checks excluded brain and cervical damage. Dahlgren crashed during qualifying; he managed to get out by himself of the wrecked car but suffered from a fracture to the third phalanx of his right thumb. The doctors declared both drivers not fit for racing on Sunday. WTCC Guia Race of Macau - Circuito da Guia - 18 / 20 November 2011 www.fiawtcc.com - www.macau.grandprix.gov.mo More information and pictures: www.fiawtcc.com Fabio Ravaioli - FIA WTCC Media Delegate