Rob Huff wins the two races in Macau, finishing only 3 points behind Muller
Yvan Muller conquered the 2011 WTCC Drivers title, his third in total and his second at the wheel of a Chevrolet, at the end of a sensational championship finale in Macau, after Rob Huff challenged him fiercely until the very end.
In an impressive show of bravura, the Brit won both races on the streets of the former Portuguese enclave, bringing his personal number of successes in Macau to five, while Yvan Muller took a second and a third, showing once again all his mastery of touring car racing.
Eventually, the two are separated by only the small margin of 3 points at the end of an exciting season that has provided a great Champion, an equally great Vice-Champion and an unprecedented string of record results (21 wins out of 24 races, and 12 pole positions in 12 events) for Chevrolet, the RML team and the new Cruze 1.6 turbo, a car and a new engine that hit the track for the first time in September 2010. Alain Menu, who also played a key role in this year’s triumphs, was the unlucky hero in Macau, as his weekend finished in lap 1 of Race 1 after being involved in a race incident he did not cause.
Race 1 was pretty stressful with a start delayed by one lap and two safety car periods in the early stages, one of them for the incident that brought Menu out of contention. Rob Huff made a good use of his pole position, keeping the advantage at the start and at the two restarts, but was permanently under Muller’s threat. Yvan attacked Rob several times at the end of the very long straight, as he was close enough to be towed, but the Brit was able tostay ahead until the chequered flag.
Race 2 only saw one safety car period. Rob Huff, who started from P3, took the lead in lap 3 after two great overtakes on Nykjær, while Muller, who was starting from P8, quickly put himself in P4, which was enough for securing the title, before passing Nykjær and finish the season on the podium.
• QUOTESRob Huff (1st / 1st): “It is a very emotional moment, of course. I did everything I could todefend my chances, but it wasn’t enough. I am both disappointed to miss the objective bysuch a small margin and very happy of my two wins here and of my season. I finish thechampionship with the same number of wins and poles as Yvan and I think I have showedgreat consistency throughout the season, finishing all races in the points. Yvan has pushedme to the limit at all times, and here again in Race 1, and that has made me a much betterdriver. I congratulate Yvan, who has proved once again why he is one of the very greats oftouring car racing. I want to stress the great job that the team has done and also theexcellent relations we have with Yvan and Alain. Next year, we’ll be back and I already lookforward to it …”
Yvan Muller (2nd / 3rd): "It’s just fantastic to be Champion again, especially after such astressful week end here in Macau. It has been an incredible season, which started not verywell for me. By mid-season, things became much better, thanks to the great work done withmy engineer, Chris Cronin, and the whole team. This allowed me to progress step by stepand then this thrilling finale…I knew Rob could win both races here, as he did, and that Icould not take any risk. The championship could have gone either way, and I am sure Robwill win it soon. It’s a fantastic day for the entire team, and I really feel an intense and deepsatisfaction.”
Alain Menu (DNF/DNS): “Obviously, not the end of the season I had dreamt of. I took agood start in Race 1, passing a couple of cars. I knew the track was quite dirty at theMandarin bent and tried to avoid trouble. Unfortunately, Couto was touched by another carand pushed me to the outside and then hit me twice when he lost control of his car. That wasthe end of it as the car was quite damaged and there was not enough time in-between theraces to repair it. This meant I could see both races from the pit wall and I congratulate bothYvan and Rob for their great season.”
Ray Mallock: “It was a very intense week, with a lot of pressure in the cockpits, on thepitwall and in the pits, but what a great battle we have seen. Both Yvan and Rob proved tobe worth of the World Champion title, and I want also to congratulate them for being sogracious in victory and in defeat. I am really proud of how everybody in the team conductedthis campaign and this finale.”
Eric Nève: “We could not have wished a more exciting and wonderful conclusion to thisexceptional season. Yvan and Rob both deserved the title, but you can have only one winner.What really pleases me is that they have given us a tremendous show and they havehonored the sports by fighting fiercely and fairly. I also want to congratulate the entire teamfor their professionalism and for being able to prepare the cars perfectly, so that nomechanical issue would interfere in the title’s battle.”
MACAU RACE 1 RESULTS
1. R Huff Chevrolet Cruze 11 laps in 35m01s9032. Y Muller Chevrolet Cruze + 1s0163. G Tarquini SEAT SR León 1.6T + 5s6664. T Coronel BMW 320 TC + 8s2395. M Nykjær SEAT SR León 1.6T +10s778DNF A Menu Chevrolet Cruze 0 laps (Accident)
MACAU RACE 2 RESULTS
1. R Huff Chevrolet Cruze 11 laps in 33m23s2232. T Coronel BMW 320 TC + 4s6803. Y Muller Chevrolet Cruze + 8s6954. G Tarquini SEAT SR León 1.6T + 9s0475. M Nykjær SEAT SR León 1.6T +10s218DNS A Menu Chevrolet
