The title challengers in profile

With the final race weekend of the 2009 FIA World Touring Car Championship nearly upon us, TouringCarTimes.com profiles the three drivers who can leave Macau with the title.

Gabriele Tarquini, SEAT, Yvan Muller, SEAT, and Augusto Farfus, BMW, can all mathematically win the championship this weekend at Macau.

The three have been following each other though the entire season. 13 points separate the three and 20 points are left to fight for.

But just who are they and what have they done until now?

Here’s where you find out.

Gabriele Tarquini

Car: SEAT León 2.0 TDI
Car Number: 2
Date of Birth: 2nd March 1962 (47 years old)
Place of Birth: Giulianova, Italy

2009 WTCC
Wins: 3
Pole Positions: 5
Fastest Laps: 2
Laps Led: 45
Points: 115

All time WTCC
Wins: 10
Pole Positions: 10
Fastest Laps: 10
Laps Led: 115
Points: 377

As with many of the top racing drivers, Gabriele Tarquini began his racing life karting. He won the Italian, European and World titles over a two year period 1983-84.

Open wheel racing beckoned, and he moved to Formula 3000 before taking the massive step into Formula 1 in 1987.

He made his Formula 1 for the Osella team at the San Marino Grand Prix, and he went on to compete in 78 race weekends in the series. He failed to qualify on a number of occasions, and his actual number of race starts is 38.

Tarquini scored a single point in Formula 1, doing so at the 1989 Mexico Grand Prix whilst driving for AGS-Ford.

His final appearance in Formula 1 was at the European Grand Prix in 1995. During the season Tarquini was employed as the Tyrrell test driver, but was drafted into the race seat to replace Ukyo Katayama for the race at the Nürburgring.

Aside from his 1995 outing, Tarquini had essentially left Formula 1 at the end of 1992, and turned to Touring Car racing.

Competing in the Italian Super Touring Championship for a number of years, before heading to British soil in 1994 to take the British Touring Car Championship title for Alfa Romeo.

He competed in a multitude of other touring car series such as the German Super Touring Championship, the FIA International Touring Car Championship and the FIA European Super Touring Championship, before he took his next top-level crown.

In 2003 he took the FIA European Touring Car Championship title in an Alfa Romeo 156 but was unable to defend the title in 2004.

Since the inception of the World Touring Car Championship he spent three years being unable to match the pace of the series leaders, but in 2008 he found the necessary speed to finish the season 2nd overall.

He goes into the final round of the 2009 series leading the driver’s championship standings, with a 2-point advantage over Yvan Muller.

Yvan Muller

Car: SEAT León 2.0 TDI
Car Number: 1
Date of Birth: 16th August 1969 (40 years old)
Place of Birth: Altkirch, France

2009 WTCC
Wins: 4
Pole Positions: 1
Fastest Laps: 2
Laps Led: 47
Points: 113

All time WTCC
Wins: 10
Pole Positions: 5
Fastest Laps: 6
Laps Led: 128
Points: 370

Yvan Muller’s racing life started off with competition in French national championships, such as Formula Renault and F3.

He moved to race in the British F2 Championship, and took the title in 1992.

Muller moved up the single seater ladder into the FIA F3000 Championship, but wasn’t successful, before moving into tin-top racing in the French Super Touring Championship in which he took the title during the 1995 season.

Spells in the Italian and German Touring Car Championships proved unsuccessful, before making his move into the British Touring Car Championship with Vauxhall.

Muller remained competing in the BTCC for some eight years between 1998 and 2005 inclusive, taking the title at the final round at Oulton Park in 2003.

The lure of the World Touring Car Championship was strong enough to see Muller join SEAT in 2006. That same year saw a 4th place finish in the championship standings.

The 2007 season would perhaps go down as one of Muller’s most heartbreaking of his career. With the championship all but wrapped up, a fuel pump failure saw him retire from the race, and ultimately finish 2nd in the standings.

Muller struck back in 2008, claiming the title he had come so close to the previous year, and became the World Touring Car Champion.

The Andros Trophy, held annually in France, is a fine example of Muller’s undoubted ability behind the wheel of a car.

The ice racing championship has been won now fewer than 10-times by Muller, who dominated from 1996 until 2002, and then again from 2004 through to 2006.

Muller will start the Macau race weekend 2 points behind Tarquini, and 11 ahead of Farfus.

Augusto Farfus

Car: BMW 320si
Car Number: 8
Date of Birth: 3rd September 1983 (26 years old)
Place of Birth: Curitiba, Brazil

2009 WTCC
Wins: 5
Pole Positions: 3
Fastest Laps: 2
Laps Led: 66
Points: 102

All time WTCC
Wins: 14
Pole Positions: 9
Fastest Laps: 13
Laps Led: 196
Points: 365

Farfus’ racing career is the shortest of the three driver’s vying for the title in Macau this weekend.

He started on two wheels in Mini Moto, before moving to four wheels and karting where he remained for a number of years.

Farfus made the move to single seater racing in the Italian Formula Renault series, and that provided the springboard for him to move to F3000.

He took his first title in F3000, when he became champion of the Euro Series n 2003.

From there Farfus moved into Touring Cars when Alfa Romeo ran him in the 2004 European Touring Car Championship.

When the series became the World Touring Car Championship in 2005, Farfus remained with Alfa Romeo, and claimed his first race victory on his way to finishing 4th overall in the standings.

He went one better in 2006, claiming 3rd place overall, but in 2007 Farfus moved to the Schnitzer BMW team. During the season he took 3 wins, but could only finish 4th in the championship.

The 2008 season was a relatively poor time for Farfus, as he recorded his lowest championship position of 6th.

Farfus has the slimmest chance of becoming champion at the weekend. He lies 13-points behind championship leader Tarquini, but he knows full well that anything can, and usually does, happen in Macau.