A stunning performance by Andy Priaulx winning the big race in Macau resulted in his 3rd consecutive driver's title. BMW also won the manufacturers title for the 4th consecutive year.
The race was a nail biter was a thriller with the usual tight confines of the circuit resulting in a few spins and bent panels.
A terrific battle between Larini, Thompson and Monteiro resulted in the finishing in that order - Thompson getting the final podium slot in a 4 year old car on a miniscule budget compared to the works teams - awesome!
PR Below:
Andy Priaulx claimed his third FIA World Touring Car Championship (WTCC) title today, his second on Yokohama ADVANs, following two thrilling rounds in Macau.
Maximising his strategy to take advantage of the WTCC reverse grid, Priaulx drove to eighth in the first race, having started 12th, which placed him on pole position for this season’s last round.
Race two saw Priaulx’s title rivals wither down to just one, Alfa Romeo’s James Thompson, whose initial speed was no match to Priaulx’s BMW-pace over the nine-lap race distance.
“I’m speechless! I didn’t know what to expect from the weekend and this is amazing,” said Priaulx. “Both races were challenging, by now we all know how good the ADVANs are and that you can push for the whole race without them suffering, so the objective was to stay on track, keep calm and not clip any of the barriers.
“As they say, you have to finish the race first to have a chance at winning it and we did just that. I’d like to thank everyone, including Yokohama, for this third world title… It’s an unbelievable feeling to have!” Triple WTCC Champion Andy Priaulx
“For Yokohama, the combination of single-seater racing with touring cars has been constant this year with official WTCC partner racing series Formula Master running alongside eight of the touring car championship’s weekends,” said Yokohama Europe Motorsport Manager Matthijs Mathlener. “The Macau Formula 3 race is steeped in heritage however with Yokohama supplying tyres to the entire field for the last 25 consecutive years.
“Both Macau’s Formula 3 and WTCC produced some fantastic racing this weekend, making the past few days a fitting end to a superb season of racing for us. We are all looking forward to next year, with our racing commitments confirmed both in WTCC and Formula Master amongst other projects.” A change from the usual Yokohama ADVAN engineers?FIA World Touring Car Championship – Macau
Round 21 results
1. Alain Menu (SUI), Chevrolet Lacetti
2. Gabriele Tarquini (ITA), SEAT Leon TDI
3. Rob Huff (GBR), Chevrolet Lacetti
4. Jordi Gene (ESP), SEAT Leon TDI
5. James Thompson (GBR), Alfa Romeo 156
6. Tiago Monteiro (POR), SEAT Leon
7. Nicola Larini (ITA), Chevrolet Lacetti
8. Andy Priaulx (GBR), BMW 320si
FIA World Touring Car Championship – Macau
Provisional round 22 results
1. Andy Priaulx (GBR), BMW 320si
2. Nicola Larini (ITA), Chevrolet Lacetti
3. James Thompson (GBR), Alfa Romeo 156
4. Tiago Monteiro (POR), SEAT Leon
5. Tom Coronel (NED), SEAT Leon
6. Rickard Rydell (SWE), SEAT Leon
7. Felix Porteiro (ESP), BMW 320si
8. Colin Turkington (GBR), BMW 320si
