Ice king Muller reigns supreme
Stade de France, Paris, Saturday 7 February 2004

As if it were not enough to have taken his eighth Trophée Andros title from nine attempts the previous weekend, BTCC champion Yvan Muller once again demonstrated his racing prowess in Paris on Saturday, giving a master class in car control. On the artificial oval circuit laid down in the 60,000 capacity Stade de France, Muller took his Kia Rio Silhouette to victory, first in his heats, and then in the evening’s finale which saw his much awaited clash with compatriot and four-time Formula One world champion, Alain Prost.

In an end of season event, which brought the Trophée Andros to an audience which would usually get no closer to the ice than the occasional Paris snowstorm, Muller revelled in the electrifying atmosphere. The circuit itself is probably best described as a 400m running track with a thick layer of ice on top and hard walls on either side. The event began at 16:00 with bikes – highly impressive on the slippery surface! Muller and Prost both feature in the ‘Elite’ class, which as the name suggests, features the most powerful cars, often with a degree of works backing. Also on the bill were the ‘Promotion’ contenders, in slightly less powerful cars, and ‘Sprint cars’ (a kind of dirt buggy adapted for ice.

Muller and Prost first entered in to the arena shortly before 19:00, to compete in their individual heats, which they both won with relative ease. The format of the Trophée Andros sees two drivers share each car, and as such, they share the responsibility of bringing it home in one piece. Fortunately for Muller and Prost, their respective team-mates, Evens Stievenart and Philippe de Korsak also won their heats without putting a scratch on the cars.

The evening was compeered by a duo of French commentators who did well to get the crowd going throughout the event despite the falling temperature. There were also displays from the glamorous Ice Girls in the centre of the stadium, as well as a ‘Race of Dreams’ organised by Alain Prost, which saw a number of famous French personalities, including former F1 driver Jacques Laffite and Renault test driver Franck Montagny take part in a charity race in the unusual Sprint Cars.

As far as the crowd was concerned, the big event of the night was without doubt the Muller-Prost showdown that would be the finale. At around 21:30, Muller lined up on pole with Prost second in his Toyota Corolla and a sizeable grid behind them. With the stadium still bubbling after a Mexican wave that never seemed to end, the commentators set about firing things up by testing the support for the tow French superstars. The roars were loud as the crowd cheered first for Muller and then for Prost, then again, and even once more before the grid cleared.

The signal dropped for the race to get underway and it was Prost who made the better start, with Muller struggling to get his Kia to grip on the ice. Despite having the outside line, it looked as though it was Prost who was going to lead in to the first bend, but with the crowd rising to its feet, Muller fought back and Prost was edged to the outside of the circuit, clouting the wall on his way round. He continued, but Muller had taken control. Prost started his fightback, but his race was to be cut short as his Corolla was once more fired against the wall – and this time it was terminal. The ‘Professor’ as he is known to his fans, climbed out of the car, and could only look on as a jubilant Muller spun the Rio through 360 degrees as he crossed the line to take the chequered flag.

Muller had shown his dominance in this tricky discipline once more. He is without doubt the best driver in the world on ice. He and Prost, who share a mutual respect for the other’s talent, will square up again in the Trophée Andros next winter, but before then, Muller has the small matter to attend to of defending his BTCC crown.

Look out for more from Yvan Muller soon…

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