Muller is world champion for the third time

The 2011 WTCC came to an exciting end yesterday at Macau, where 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 – 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.

These results were 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 at Macau, being involved in a first race accident that sidelined him for good) filled the championship podium.

A few other drivers showed off in the final event. 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 points in the Yokohama Trophy. Like Huff he won both races. And like Huff he lost the title by a small margin (two points) to Kristian Poulsen.

Now the championship faces a 110-day break before the 2012 season kicks off at Monza on March 11.