WTCC CROWNS NEW MANUFACTURERS' CHAMPION
30 October 2008

The World Touring Cars Championship (WTCC)'s debut at one of the more popular Japanese race circuits of Okayama turned out to be unforgettable experience for the SEAT Sport Team as the Spanish marque clinched the Manufacturers' title with another race (Macau GP) to spare.

The penultimate round of the WTCC saw SEAT achieved the necessary points to secure the title mathematically, with excellent wins in both races by Rickard Rydell who won the first race and Tom Coronel in the second race.

A close battle between the BMW and SEAT drivers in a wet Race 1 ended in Rickard Rydell (right) claiming his second victory of the season ahead of Jörg Müller and Andy Priaulx.

The second race, on track that was drying in the final laps, was won by Tom Coronel who made a tyre gamble to become the fourteenth different winner in the 22 races so far.

Coronel (left) crossed the line inches ahead of Augusto Farfus, with Independent Sergio Hernández claiming his first podium in the WTCC.

Four BMW drivers made it onto the podium; BMW Team Germany’s Jörg Müller (DE, above left) finished race one in second place, closely followed by BMW Team UK's Andy Priaulx (above right). In race two, Augusto Farfus (below left) came through for second, while Sergio Hernandez (below right) claimed third for Proteam Motorsport.

Chevrolet WTCC Racing Team drew its consolation through efforts of Rob Huff (right) who mastered the weather and most of his competitors for nine valuable points.

Team mate Alain Menu (below left), who had been the fastest Chevrolet qualifier, saw his weekend ruined at the start of race 1.

Third Chevy driver Nicola Larini (below right) couldn’t overcome his low starting position in race 1 and opted for a safe tyre choice in the second race, which started in dry weather but on a wet track.

N Technology´s James Thompson (left) claimed a fourth-place finish, keeping his consistent record in the series.

The British driver had a superb sprint from 17th place on the grid to fourth, securing a five-point finish in the second race. Thompson also claimed the fastest lap of the race for N.Technology (1:48.767), the 114th in the Team´s racing history.

In race one, Thompson made a determined drive through the field, improving his position to sixth within the first lap. After running as high as fourth, the Honda Euro R settled into seventh place and was set for a points-scoring finish. However, whilst battling for position on the last lap, an incident with Yvan Muller caused Thompson to spin; he crossed the line in seventeenth place.

In the manufacturers’ classification, SEAT have won the championship title, after scoring 304 points. BMW follows in second, 53 points behind, and cannot be caught by Chevrolet in the season finale. In the Drivers’ Championship, no BMW driver is in with a chance of winning the title.

It’s now a two-way fight between SEAT's Yvan Muller (right) and Gabriele Tarquini to determine the successor of triple world champion Priaulx, who remains the best-placed BMW driver in fifth with 67 points.

[View Results & Standings]

The WTCC will travel to Macau for the final rounds of the season, held at the Circuito da Guia, Macau, from 13 to 16 November.