CHAMPIONSHIP FIGHT IS CLOSER THAN EVER

The Brazilian claimed a lights-to-flag success – the second for him this year after Pau’s Race 1 – taking a brilliant start and building a margin that was enough to control the charge of Chevrolet drivers Robert Huff and Alain Menu.

Another great start enabled Porteiro to avoid the first-turn carnage in the second race. The Spaniard managed to keep Tom Coronel and Huff at bay to achieve his first win of the season and become the 12th victorious driver in 16 races so far.

The German weekend did not favour the drivers on top of the classification: Yvan Muller obtained only one point, Andy Priaulx 4, Rickard Rydell 3, while Gabriele Tarquini remained scoreless. And these results made the fight for the World Champion's crown closer than ever.

Muller has a two-point lead over his SEAT Sport team-mate Tarquini, while Priaulx is lying third with a 13-point gap.

With 80 points still at stake, ten drivers have realistic chances to have a shot at the title: including Rydell (15 points behind), Huff and Porteiro (both one further point adrift), Farfus, Jordi Gené and Jörg Müller (all with 23-point gap), all the way down to Menu who is 26 points from the leader.

In the Manufacturers' Championship SEAT lead with a margin of 24 points ahead of BMW,

The WTCC will resume for rounds 17 and 18 at Imola, Italy, on September 21st.