Yvan Muller insists that finishing as the runner-up of this year’s World Touring Car Championship (WTCC) is of ‘limited importance’, with the Frenchman battling Citroën team-mate Sébastien Loeb for the honour.
Having lost out for a second consecutive season to José María López, Muller is unfazed by the prospect of having to battle with Loeb to finish as the runner-up in this year’s championship.
“Once you know you can’t win, whether you finish second or third is of limited importance,” insists Muller. “But I really want to end the season on a good note by trying to win one of the two races.”
Muller lost a huge swathe of points to Loeb in Thailand after suffering the first double retirement of his WTCC career, 227 races in to his career. As a result, Muller is keen to put his abysmal weekend in Asia behind him and end on a high in this weekend’s Qatar night races.
“I was frustrated by the Buriram weekend, where I didn’t finish a single lap in either race after getting involved in collisions,” added Muller. “Finishing the season on a positive note would be the best way of beginning my preparations for 2016!”
Whilst Muller might be unperturbed by the chance of finishing as runner-up, Loeb is hoping to bow out of the WTCC on a high, having been dropped by Citroën for 2016.
The former Rally champion is just five points ahead of Muller, and is keen to go one better than in 2014, when he finished third overall behind his fellow Alsatian.
“I haven’t often found myself fighting to be World Championship runner-up,” added Loeb, “but if I were to achieve it, it would give me something to show for all the work I have put in over the past two seasons.
“In 2014, I finished third in the championship after winning two races. This year, I won my first pole position, I have won four races and I’m now second in the overall standings. I’ll be looking to hold on to that position, which would also be a fitting reward for my team of engineers and mechanics. It would be a nice way to round off my fifteenth season with Citroën.”