After two breathtaking races at the weekend the FIA World Touring Car Championship now looks towards its final meeting in Macau next month with nine drivers still involved in the fight for the World title, and covered by only 12 points, but with Alfa Romeo pilot Augusto Farfus sitting on top of the points table.

Farfus, driving the N.technology-run factory Alfa Romeo 156, emerged victorious after starting from pole position, in the first of the two 13-lap duration WTCC races held at Valencia on Sunday. The ten points he gained for his efforts, along with the four he added for the fifth place he earned in race two, means that he jumps to the top of the drivers' classification, just one point ahead of BMW drivers' Andy Priaulx and Jörg Müller, and three points in front of SEAT Sport's Gabriele Tarquini. Victory in the second race was a big boost also for Jörg Müller, reigniting his hopes of becoming world champion, while Priaulx, Tarquini and Rydell, who is still in 5th place only 6 points off the lead, were all involved in collisions in Spain that cost each of them valuable points.

The FIA World Touring Car Manufacturers' Championship underwent another major change at the top, with BMW recovering from a 9-point deficit going to Valencia and departing after taking a 10-point lead ahead of SEAT. BMW now have 221 points compared to SEAT's 211. Alfa Romeo are in a distant third place with 147 points, while Chevrolet are fourth with 122.
 

While BMW Team Italy-Spain and Chevrolet had reasons to rejoice in Spain at the weekend as Duncan Huisman and Nicola Larini claimed one podium finish apiece. SEAT Sport meanwhile faced their blackest weekend of the season, with a total of only seven points scored by their seven works drivers in the two rounds.

A greatly disappointing result for their home race.The 2006 FIA World Touring Car Championship will finally come to an end in Macau, on November 18th and 19th. The biggest hurdle facing Augusto Farfus as he bids to wrest hold of the title for Alfa Romeo will be the weight handicap imposition he will face: he will have the heaviest car on this tight street circuit as he will be lugging 80 kg, far from ideal on a twisty track like this one. Next up will be Jörg Müller, his closest rival for the title, the German set to haul 75 kg around, but then there is a huge weight discrepancy before Andy Priaulx and Gabriele Tarquini weight in with 45 kg each onboard. Rickard Rydell (SEAT) and Dirk Müller (BMW) meanwhile will have 35 kg apiece with Peter Terting (SEAT) set to carry 30 kg, and James Thompson (SEAT) 20 kg.

In Farfus' favour though will be the fact that he knows and likes Macau: last year's opening race on this street circuit was the scene of his first-ever race win in the WTCC. The Alfa 156 racer traditionally performs well in Macau and the experienced N.technology team know the circuit very well having competed on it several times. Alfa Romeo may also choose to bring in a fourth car to support Farfus' bid, alongside regular drivers Salvatore Tavano and Gianni Morbidelli, neither of whom has managed to put a decent run of form together this year. Last year N.technology ran André Couto to support Fabrizio Giovanardi's title bid, and the experienced local driver initially led race one before he crashed out, despite carrying 40 kgs of ballast. If N.technology draft him in again he will have to carry the 20 kg of ballast required by this year's regulations to be imposed on any driver joining the series for the first time in 2006.

Additional Reporting: Peter Bens