BMW and Andy Priaulx win the 2006 World Touring Car Championship.

2006 FIA World Touring Car Championship (WTCC) Rounds 19 and 20 -
17th/19th November 2006 - Race Macau (China), 19th November 2006. Andy
Priaulx (GBR) is the old and new World Touring Car Champion. At the FIA
WTCC's season finale in Macau, the BMW Team UK driver added a fifth win
to his tally in race one and finished fifth in the second round. With
73 points under his belt, he secured his second consecutive world
title. Jörg Müller (GER) from BMW Team Germany was beaten by
his brand-mate by just a single point. The 37-year-old won the final
race of the season at the "Guia Circuit", following a
sixth-place finish in the first round of the day. In the Manufacturers'
Championship BMW has a 19-point lead over SEAT. With 254 points, the
marquee also defended this championship title. Priaulx made history at
one of the world's most demanding tracks. He is the first touring car
driver since Roberto Ravaglia (ITA), now Team Principal of BMW Team
Italy-Spain, who succeeded in winning three FIA Touring Car
Championship titles in a row. In 2004 he secured title glory in the
European Touring Car Championship, last year he won the FIA WTCC.
Whenever a world title was up for grabs in touring car racing, it was
carried away by a BMW driver. By winning both the Drivers' and the
Manufacturers' Championship, the BMW 320si WTCC finished a truly
successful maiden season in motorsports. The drivers of the BMW
national teams scored a total of 11 wins out of 20 races with the car
that was developed by BMW Motorsport on the basis of the road-going
series car with the same name. With a good start from pole in race one,
Priaulx laid the foundation for his second triumph. He defended the
lead and delivered a flawless performance over the course of the
following laps. For the drivers further back in the field, however, the
first lap was a more turbulent affair. Duncan Huisman (NLD) of BMW Team
Italy-Spain kept out of all this turmoil by improving from fourth to
second at the start. Jörg Müller who started from fifth on the
grid, lost one place. His team-mate, Dirk Müller (GER), who prior
to the final two races also had the chance to become World Champion,
experienced a dose of bad luck: When approaching the renowned Lisboa
bend, he was pushed by Fabrizio Giovanardi (ITA) and lost control of
his car. With his car sideways, the 31-year-old blocked the track for a
while, before continuing in the race. However, the best position he
could achieve after this incident was 14th. This meant that Dirk
Müller was out of the title fight. The races of Alessandro Zanardi
(ITA) from BMW Team Italy-Spain and Jan Magnussen (DEN), who was
competing for BMW Team UK, were also spoiled by this situation.
Magnussen was forced to return to the pits with a damaged car, while
Zanardi was at least able to resume the race following a pit stop for
repairs. The 40-year-old finished 23rd. At the top of the field,
Priaulx dictated the pace and collected ten valuable points after nine
racing laps. Huisman also completed a great race and took the chequered
flag in second position. With 69 points under his belt, Priaulx held a
five-point lead over Augusto Farfus (BRA) and was seven points ahead of
Jörg Müller in the title race at this point in time. Farfus
and Jörg Müller had fought a tough duel for fifth place, with
the German finally crossing the line in sixth place. This meant that
the championship was to be decided in the very final race of the year.
Jörg Müller had to win race two in order to gain ground on
Priaulx - and at the start he took the first crucial step towards
victory. From third place he passed Peter Terting (GER) and Tom Coronel
(NLD), thus taking the lead. However, Priaulx also improved by two
positions and was already running in sixth when the safety car came out
at the end of lap one. As was the the case in race one, a collision in
the midfield hampered the progress of many BMW drivers. Huisman
dropped back from seventh to 17th, while Magnussen was sent into yet
another early retirement. Dirk Müller, on the other hand, improved
from 14th to eighth. Zanardi leap-frogged the field from 21st to 11th.
For Priaulx and Jörg Müller, however, it was more important
that the third title contender, Farfus, had crashed on lap one and
retired. Now it was obvious: The title fight had turned into a
two-horse race. At the end of lap four, the safety car pulled off.
Jörg Müller benefited from technical problems on Terting's
car at the re-start, as the SEAT with a misfire held up the rest of the
field. Consequently, Jörg Müller was quickly was to open up a
gap over his rivals and secured the all-important victory. For Priaulx,
sixth place would have been enough to win the title. But he did even
better than that. Following Terting's retirement he moved into fifth
position and held this place until the end, thus scoring four points
and keeping Jörg Müller at bay in the drivers'
classification. Dirk Müller secured sixth place in the
championship by coming eighth in race two. Zanardi finished ninth,
Huisman brought home his damaged car home in 13th place. Reactions:
BMW Motorsport Director Mario Theissen: "It's a great success for
BMW to have won the title for the third time in a row. For all of these
triumphs in the past three years we managed to take the first two
positions in the drivers' standings as well as the manufacturers'
crown. This championship victory, however, has a special meaning for me.
This year we entered a completely new car, the BMW 320si WTCC. If a car
lives up to the expectations on the track it only becomes obvious after
the first races. From the word go we were competitive. Over the course
of the season, we were able to improve the BMW 320si and to make it
faster. We offer this car to customer teams around the world. Following
the WTCC victory they now know even more precisely what they can look
forward to. The fight for the drivers' title was open until the very
final lap. Congratulations to Andy Priaulx who once again proved his
extraordinary talent here in Macau. However, Jörg Müller
didn't make it easy for him. This has been an exciting season with a
worthy champion." Andy Priaulx (BMW Team UK): "I am
overwhelmed by emotions at the moment. The pressure was huge in these
two races. By his strong performance, Jörg forced me to do the
best race of my life in round two. Fortunately I had the perfect car to
do so. My RBM team has done a great job. In race two I was constantly
under pressure from Fabrizio Giovanardi. He hit me every lap. But at
the end of the day I won the title. To make it three in a row means a
lot to me, it's a fantastic feeling. I'm happy to be part of such a
competitive championship and that I am able to fight for wins. I also
want to give SEAT a pat on the back, as they have shown a lot of
commitment this year. However, I am glad that I was at the wheel of a
BMW." Bart Mampaey (Team Principal, BMW Team UK): "This
season finale is proof of the fact that again we had the best package of
car, driver and team in 2006. If you score three pole positions and five
wins in this competitive series, then this is a special achievement.
The past season has been the best for the RBM team so far. I'm
especially happy that Andy was able to win a race in Macau. This shows
his outstanding abilities. I would like to thank BMW for the BMW 320si
WTCC. It was unbelievable that we were in the position to win the very
first race of the season. Additionally, a big thank you goes to BMW's
engine department. The engineers did a great job, especially here at
the power circuit of Macau." Jörg Müller (BMW Team
Germany): "This has been a sweet weekend for me. It's a pity that
it didn't work out for me to win the title. I simply failed to score
points consistently enough this season. With a new car you have to gain
experiences first. To win here with a handicap weight of 75 kilograms
proves how hard the team has worked and improved the car. Andy Priaulx
did a superb job and is the deserving winner." Dirk Müller
(BMW Team Germany): "In the first race I backed off in order to
avoid a collision with Andy. Consequently I lost several positions and
in the end was spun round by a guest driver. That didn't help me on my
mission to win the title. In race two I managed to improve from 14th to
eighth. Quite obviously, I'm deeply disappointed now, as I had hoped
for more.