“If somebody had told me at the beginning of the season that one of my drivers was leading the classification before Macau, I would have said he was crazy,” N.technology boss Mauro Sipsz commented in Valencia after Augusto Farfus emerged as the new championship leader.

And yet the Brazilian youngster benefited from the 11 th change at the top and ousted Andy Priaulx. It is the first time Farfus leads the points as, since the season’s opening round at Monza, the leadership has bounced back and forth between Priaulx and SEAT’s men Muller, Thompson and Tarquini.

Farfus’ lead was unexpected, not only because the N.technology team is running on a reduced budget, but also because the Alfa Romeo 156 is the oldest car in the field, in its ninth and last racing season...