WTCC drivers to carry Macau success to season finale

FIA World Touring Car Championship drivers Nicky Catsburg and Tiago Monteiro will head to Qatar for the 2016 season buoyed by their strong performances at the Macau Grand Prix on Sunday.
Catsburg finished seventh in the FIA GT World Cup in a BMW M6 GT3, while Monteiro triumphed in the Guia Race in a JAS Motorsport-built Honda Civic after two shortened encounters.
They will now head to Doha to prepare for WTCC DHL Race of Qatar from November 24  to 25. Monteiro can finish runner-up in the final standings driving for the factory Honda team, while works LADA driver Catsburg will aim for his second win of the season.
There will be a duel in the desert when the 2016 FIA World Touring Car Championship reaches its climax at WTCC DHL Race of Qatar on November 25, as second and third in the final standings are decided at the Losail International Circuit.
But while the thrilling on-track battle for positions will take centre stage during the pair of night races, two motorsport greats will sign off from WTCC duty.
Although José María López hopes to return to World Touring Car action in the future having made it three consecutive WTCC titles this season, Yvan Muller will retire from the championship following unprecedented success.
No driver has won more titles (four) and races (48), claimed more pole positions (29), set more fastest laps (38) or led more races (571) than the 48-year-old French legend.
And Muller intends to go out with a bang rather than a whimper by beating Monteiro to the coveted runner-up spot in the final standings behind his Citroën team-mate López. With a 31-point advantage over the Portuguese Honda driver, Muller has high hopes: “I realise it’s a special race and there might be some emotions. It’s also more than a race because I want to be second for my team. It’s always good to race at night so I hope it will be another special moment.”
For López, the WTCC’s desert duel also marks the end of an era. After claiming a hat-trick of drivers’ titles and breaking the record of most wins in one season (10).