Victory and third place for Muennich Motorsport in Macau

Friedersdorf/Macau (rol/ot) A lot of luck in the entertainment paradise of Macau in the crash and chaos race: The German Team ALL-INKL.COM Muennich Motorsport from Friedersdorf had a great finish of the season of the FIA World Touring Car Championship (WTCC) 2013 on Sunday (17th of November).

Last years’ world champion Rob Huff from Great Britain won the 24th and same time last season race on the 6.12 km long “Circuito da Guia” in the main programme of the Macau Grand Prix. Earlier, he already scored a podium placing on position three in the season run 23 in his Seat Léon with starting number 1 for the racing stable from Saxony on the infamous city course.

Marc Basseng in the Seat Léon #38 reached the point rankings two times on position seven, René Münnich (both Neusalza-Spremberg) missed a top ten placing on position nine just slightly in the last race, when he had to stable his Seat Léon #37 after a gearbox damage. In the 23 rd run he finished on position 16. Winner of the first run in Macau has been the new world champion Yvan Muller (France/Chevrolet Cruze).

“That’s a great team result and our most successful season event at the WTCC”, team manager Marc Basseng said, who completed his Macau premiere as a driver successfully. And according to the second race, which was interrupted two times due to multiple pile-ups, he added: “We survived.”

The final race of the WTCC ran halfway chaotically. The first interruption already happened right after the start in the first lap, when multiple cars collided and Rob Huff – coming from starting position seven – already was on position three and Marc Basseng (starting position ten) on position eight and where able to continue the race just before the big crash. René Münnich (starting position 21) had to brake extremely hard not to drive right into the wreckage.

All of the three Münnich pilots improved after the restart, but then the team principal on position nine had to stable his car in the fourth lap with a damaged gearbox as a consequential damage after the hard braking at the start crash. Huff has been on position three at this time and Basseng on seven, when the race was interrupted again.

After the second restart behind the Safety Car in the seventh lap the British saw his chance and attacked the front of the field, took the lead two laps later and scored the second season win (earlier he won in Budapest) for the Team ALL-INKL.COM Muennich Motorsport.

Marc Basseng has already been on position six, before he was overtaken by Yvan Muller in the last lap. Only 15 of the 33 started cars crossed the finish line. At the first Macau race that ran without any bigger crashes, Huff started from position four and finished on position three. Basseng improved his starting position eleven about 4 places to seven, Münnich started on 21 and finished on position 16.

After the successful finale, the racing stable from Saxony had another reason to celebrate, because ALL-INKL.COM Muennich Motorsport scored the third position at the team championship, the Yokohama Teams' Trophy. At the drivers’ world championship Rob Huff improved his position to rank four and Marc Basseng to rank 13.

René Münnich scored points for the private driver ranking (Yokohama Drivers' Trophy) and remained 14th. “Altogether it has been a good premiere season at the Touring Car World Championship for us. Position three in the team rankings, two race wins and a few podium placings – that is somehow what we planned before the season and we achieved it in the end”, team principal and racing stable owner René Münnich said. “I want to say thank you and give big compliment to the drivers and all other team members for their relentless commitment over the whole season.”

The races in Macau have been the last for the German Team ALL-INKL.COM Muennich Motorsport for now at the WTCC. In 2014 the racing stable takes a time-out of the WTCC, whereby Rene Münnich and Marc Basseng will drive some races infrequently. René Münnich will take part at the Rallycross World Championship with Audi next year. And in 2015, the racing stable wants to attack at the WTCC again with a whole team.

Münnich Motorsport