Title to be decided in Macau.
After races 17 and 18 of the FIA World Touring Car Championship (WTCC) in Valencia, Dirk Müller (GER) of BMW Team Deutschland snatched back the World Championship lead from his fellow BMW driver Andy Priaulx (GBR).
The 29-year-old runner-up stepped onto the podium after the first race along with winner Jordi Gené (ESP) and his SEAT team-mate Peter Terting (GER). In the second race Dirk Müller failed to make the podium after finishing fourth, but BMW Team Deutschland nevertheless had cause for celebration: Jörg Müller (GER) took his third win of the season before a crowd of 52,000. Alfa Romeo driver Fabrizio Giovanardi (ITA) and Priaulx of BMW Team UK came second and third.
In the second race, the drivers of the BMW national teams swept up five of the top six places. Alessandro Zanardi (ITA) of BMW Team Italy-Spain finished fifth. He had previously made sensational progress in the first race, advancing from 20th to eight place and thus securing pole position for the race two. His team-mate Antonio Garcia (ESP) also picked up three points by finishing sixth.
Dirk Müller leads the Drivers' World Championship with 86 points, just one championship point more than Priaulx. Ahead of the final race of the season in Macau, Giovanardi with his tally of 81 can also entertain hopes of winning the first World Championship title since 1987. In Valencia the threesome already delivered some gripping duels and the competition for the title before the season's final in the former Portuguese crown colony could hardly be closer. In the Manufacturers' Championship, BMW has extended its lead over Alfa Romeo. The Munich carmaker has 244 points after 18 out of 20 races. Alfa is second with 219 points and SEAT follows in third place (170).
Reactions:Jörg Müller (BMW Team Deutschland): "I'm really happy about my third win of the season. I have to admit that Giovanardi made things very easy for me in the second race. There was some fighting going on behind him and I was able to leave them behind. In the first race I had an exciting duel with him. It was a fair contest, as we like to see in the WTCC. In Macau I now have to take a lot of ballast on board. The street circuit is a constant up and down, which means it will have a negative impact. But still, I won there in 2004 - and that's my aim again this year."
Dirk Müller (BMW Team Deutschland): "Of course I'm really pleased to have regained the lead in the World Championship. Now I will be heading for Macau with an added incentive and plenty of self-confidence. Last year I had a twelve-point lead before the final race of the season and didn't make it. This time I'm ahead by one point - and I will make it."
Andy Priaulx (BMW Team UK): "It isn't easy winning a World Championship. That was made clear again today. Out on the track there were some tough battles. It was great fun. Both races were clean affairs. With last year's European title behind me, I feel relatively little pressure before the final. Now it's a matter of finishing both races and collecting as many points as possible. Then we'll see who ultimately makes it. It will be exciting, that's for sure."
Race 1
Weather: Sunny - 27 degrees Celsius
Start: Dirk Müller gets off to a good start and passes Terting. The BMW works driver also launches an attack on Gené, who forces Müller onto the kerbs in the ensuing duel and defends his lead. Jörg Müller gains three places at the outset to launch into the first lap in fourth place. The other drivers in the BMW national teams are also able to improve their positions: Priaulx moves from 14th into eighth place while Zanardi advances to 14th. Garcia benefits from a collision at the start between Augusto Farfus jr. (BRA) and Nicola Larini (ITA) to take fifth place.
Lap 1: Terting snatches third place back from Dirk Müller while Priaulx slips past Jörg Müller. Garcia loses a place to Giovanardi, who also launches an attack on Jörg Müller at the close of the lap. Following the scrap between these two cars, the BMW driver drops back to ninth place.
Lap 2: Priaulx passes Garcia to take sixth place.
Lap 3: Jörg Müller gets past Larini. Zanardi has already moved up to twelfth.
Lap 4: Zanardi first passes Stéphane Ortelli (MON) and a little later also overtakes Rickard Rydell (SWE). He is now in tenth place immediately behind his team-mate Garcia. Dirk Müller is closing the gap to Terting.
Lap 5: Jörg Müller passes Garcia, Priaulx overtakes Gabriele Tarquini (ITA).
Lap 6: Dirk Müller enters into a duel with Terting. The BMW driver maintains the upper hand and secures second place. Jörg Müller takes sixth place away from Tarquini.
Lap 9: First Priaulx passes his World Championship rival Giovanardi, then Jörg Müller likewise squeezes past the Alfa Romeo driver. He manages to fight back, however, and takes fifth place back from Müller.
Lap 10: Garcia drops back into tenth place and, as well as Larini, he has to let Zanardi through, who is now in ninth position.
Lap 11: After an exciting duel, Jörg Müller gets past Giovanardi once again. Zanardi attacks Tarquini and takes eighth place from his compatriot. Garcia is also poised to take his chance, but in the battle with Tarquini he leaves the track and slips back to 17th place.
Finish: Dirk Müller is second past the chequered flag to take the World Championship lead back from Priaulx, who finishes fourth and for his part increases his lead over Giovanardi in the drivers' rankings. Behind Priaulx, Jörg Müller crosses the line in fifth place, while Garcia finishes 14th. Zanardi accomplishes the greatest catching-up feat and finishes eighth to claim pole position in the second race. The 38-year-old had started from 20th on the grid.
Race 2
Weather: Sunny - 27 degrees Celsius
Start: Zanardi gets a clean start and initially defends his lead. Behind him Jörg Müller passes Giovanardi and Larini to move into second place. Priaulx is behind him in third place, with Dirk Müller in fifth. Garcia advances from 14th into tenth place.
Lap 1: Priaulx loses third place to Giovanardi. At the end of the lap both Jörg Müller and Giovanardi overtake Zanardi.
Lap 2: Dirk Müller passes Priaulx, who drops back into seventh place, and shortly afterwards Zanardi as well. That puts the World Championship leader into third place. Priaulx slips past Larini on the start/finish straight to move into sixth place.
Lap 3: Terting loses several positions, to the benefit of Priaulx and Garcia.
Lap 5: Dirk Müller turns up the heat on Giovanardi driving ahead of him in second place. A nailbiting duel is in the offing between the World Championship rivals.
Lap 6: Garcia gains further places and is now driving in sixth. Priaulx passes Zanardi and now has Dirk Müller and Giovanardi in front of him.
Lap 8: Garcia snatches fifth place from Zanardi, Priaulx passes Dirk Müller.
Lap 9: A gripping duel ensues: Dirk Müller counters and plucks third place back from Priaulx. Now he is snapping at Giovanardi's heels.
Lap 10: Priaulx demonstrates his fighting spirit and edges past Dirk Müller again. During the manoeuvre the two BMW 320i models make contact and Dirk Müller drops back into fifth place behind Garcia.
Lap 11: Dirk Müller fights his way back past Garcia into fourth place.
Lap 13: Shortly before the end of the race Zanardi passes his team-mate Garcia.
Finish: Jörg Müller celebrates a supreme third win of the season with a lead of 7.760 seconds over Giovanardi. Priaulx drives into third place on the podium and Dirk Müller finishes fourth. Zanardi and Garcia follow in fifth and sixth place. All five drivers of the BMW national teams thus end the race in the top six.
Results
BMW Team Deutschland - Schnitzer Motorsport No. 42 - Jörg Müller (GER) Grid: 7th - Races: 5th and 1st No. 43 - Dirk Müller (GER) Grid: 3rd - Races: 2nd and 4th
BMW Team UK - RBM No. 1 - Andy Priaulx (GBR) Grid: 14th - Races: 4th and 3rd
BMW Team Italy-Spain - ROAL MotorsportNo. 4 - Alex Zanardi (ITA) Grid: 20th - Races: 8th and 5thNo. 5 - Antonio Garcia (ESP) Grid: 9th - Races: 14th and 6th
BMW private teamsCrawford Racing - No. 28 - Carl Rosenblad (SWE) Races: DNF and 16th
Proteam Motorsport - No. 30 - Stefano d'Aste (ITA) Races: both 17th - No. 31 - Giuseppe Ciro (ITA) Races: 12th and 10th
Wiechers-Sport - No. 32 - Marc Hennerici (GER) Races: DNF and 20nd
Results Race 1: 1st Jordi Gené (ESP/SEAT) 22:48.757 minutes, 2nd Dirk Müller (GER, BMW 320i) +3.288 seconds, 3rd Peter Terting (GER/SEAT) +7.099, 4th Andy Priaulx (GBR/BMW 320i) +8,417, 5th Jörg Müller (GER/BMW 320i) +10.928, 6th Fabrizio Giovanardi (ITA/Alfa Romeo) +15.506, 7th Nicola Larini (ITA/Chevrolet) +19.414, 8th Alessandro Zanardi (ITA/BMW 320i) +19.937, …14th Antonio Garcia (ESP/BMW 320i) +42.743
Results Race 2: 1st Jörg Müller (GER/BMW 320i) 23:00.510 minutes, 2nd Fabrizio Giovanardi (ITA/Alfa Romeo) +7.760 seconds, 3rd Andy Priaulx (GBR/BMW 320i) +8.245, 4th Dirk Müller (GER, BMW 320i) +8.480, 5th Alessandro Zanardi (ITA/BMW 320i) +9.166, 6th Antonio Garcia (ESP/BMW 320i) +9.364, 7th Augusto Farfus jr. (BRA/Alfa Romeo) +9.806, 8th Marc Carol (ESP/SEAT)
Drivers' standings after 18 out of 20 races: 1st Dirk Müller 86 points, 2nd Andy Priaulx 85, 3rd Fabrizio Giovanardi 81, 4th Jörg Müller 59, 5th Gabriele Tarquini 55, 6th James Thompson 51, 7th Antonio Garcia 51, 8th Rickard Rydell 49, 9th Augusto Farfus jr. 49, 10th Alessandro Zanardi 31
Manufacturers' standings after 18 out of 20 races: 1st BMW 244 points, 2nd Alfa Romeo 219, 3rd SEAT 170, 4th Chevrolet 57, 5th Ford 10--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
