Yokohama ADVAN is prepared for a gripping finish as the FIA World Touring Car Championship (WTCC) readies itself for the closest-ever season finale at Macau this weekend.

One of nine drivers could win the coveted WTCC title and join this year’s other FIA World Champions, Formula One’s Fernando Alonso and World Rally’s Sebastian Loeb.

The Guia Circuit is known as one of the most demanding circuits in the world and holds two famous corners: Lisboa Bend, the track’s best overtaking opportunity, and Melco Hairpin, a 180° turn that demands maximum agility to get round the super-tight turn.

The combination of long, fast straights and sharp corners requires heavy breaking throughout the lap and the ADVANs face a serious challenge to maintain this season’s impressive consistency.  

Part of that test will be to ensure neither the championship’s front nor rear-wheel-drive cars gain a significant advantage over the other from their tyres - quite a tall order according to SEAT’s Gabriele Tarquini who maintains the circuit is perfect for rear-wheel-drive.

"The León will be very good in the slower parts of the circuit," said the Italian, who is currently fourth in the championship. "But Macau has traditionally been a BMW track. It’s been a long time since a front-wheel-drive car won there, but perhaps the time is right for a SEAT victory there this year!"

Yokohama will use its experience of the Macau Grand Prix – a forerunner to WTCC – in producing a tyre to enhance each cars’ ability, something it has achieved throughout 2006 despite the drastically different circuits visited by the WTCC.

The tyre manufacturer will also be upholding its long-time commitment to Formula 3, which it has been supplying with tyres in Macau for the last 24 years.

"Yokohama will be supporting every team and driver this weekend as it has done all year," said Yokohama Europe Marketing Manager, Kazuyoshi Sekiguchi. "We hope it will be an exciting race for all the fans of the FIA World Touring Car Championship after what has been a thrilling first season in the sport for us."

Sekiguchi also offered his congratulations to Tom Coronel, who claimed the Driver's Yokohama Independent Trophy in Valencia six weeks ago after an amazing season, which saw him claim a mighty eight wins with his GR Asia team.

Coverage for round 19 and 20 of the WTCC in Macau starts Sunday on Eurosport, with the two back-to-back races shown live at 04:00 CET.

Drivers’ Championship:

1 Augusto Farfus Jr        Alfa Romeo      60 points2 Andy Priaulx                 BMW                59 points3 Jörg Muller  BMW         59 points4 Gabriele Tarquini         SEAT                57 points5 Rickard Rydell             SEAT                54 points6 Dirk Müller                    BMW                53 points

Manufacturers’ Championship:

1 BMW 221 points2 SEAT 211 points3 Alfa Romeo 147 points4 Chevrolet 122 points

Yokohama Independents’ Trophy:

1 Tom Coronel 138 points4 Luca Rangoni 80 points3 Stefan D’Aste 77 points2 Ryan Sharp 75 points5 Pierre-Yves Corthals 57 points6 Maurizio Ceresoli 53 points

Yokohama Teams’ Trophy:

1 GR Asia 191 points2 Proteam Motorsport 156 points3 JAS Motorsport 132 points4 Wiechers Sport   68 points5 DB Motorsport    25 points6  Maurer Motorsport   25 points