Macau: Yokohama preview

GRIPPING COMPETITION IN MACAU

The FIA World Touring Car Championship (WTCC) concludes at the Circuito da Guia, Macau, on 22 November 2009, and is set to be the most hotly-contested race weekend of the season with both the drivers' and manufacturers' titles still up for grabs.

BMW Team Germany's Augusto Farfus secured the round 22 victory at the penultimate race weekend in Okayama, Japan, making the Drivers' Championship a three-way battle between current leader Gabriele Tarquini, his SEAT team-mate Yvan Muller and Farfus. The top two are split by just two points, with Farfus 13 points behind Tarquini. His win has helped put BMW three points behind SEAT in the Manufacturers' Championship.

In the YOKOHAMA Independents' Trophy, SUNRED Engineering's Tom Coronel and Proteam Motorsport's Felix Porteiro will go head-to-head. Although Dutchman Coronel has a strong lead, double points are on offer for the trophy in Macau, as well as bonus points for finishing in the top eight in the overall classification.

With a variety of car manufacturers on the grid, YOKOHAMA is instrumental to the close competition. Through development the Japanese tyre supplier has ensured its ADVANs work equally for all cars, whether they are front-wheel drive, rear-wheel drive, petrol or diesel-powered, allowing the cars to run so close together.

YOKOHAMA's Technical Consultant Ian Beveridge said, "Due to the narrow track and abrasive surface, Macau can prove a problem for some series. However, the tyres that YOKOHAMA supplies the WTCC are designed to cope with the harsh conditions associated with street circuits, which allows the cars to race as usual, meaning there will be plenty of action!"

Also racing alongside the WTCC on YOKOHAMA ADVANs will be the Formula 3 cars that are competing in the highly-prestigious Macau Grand Prix, which YOKOHAMA has supported consecutively since 1983. In addition, cars competing in the Hotel Fortuna MAC/HKG Interport Race, Macau Road Sport Challenge and CTM Touring Car Race will all be equipped with ADVANs.

Eurosport's coverage of the final WTCC race weekend begins on 21 November with qualifying shown at 24:00 (CET). Race one will be broadcast at 05:00 (CET) on Sunday 22 November, followed by race two at 06:00 (CET). Its behind-the-scenes programme, ‘Inside WTCC' will be shown on 24 November at 23:15 (CET).

Macau track facts
Circuit length: 6,117 metres
Number of laps: 2 x 9
Race distance: 55 km kilometres
Fastest race lap: Gabriele Tarquini (SEAT Leon TDI) 2:32.517 (144.45 kph)

-credit: yokohama