Gabriele Tarquini insisted he had no regrets despite missing out on the World Touring Car Championship title to team-mate Yvan Muller in Macau.

Tarquini went into the final weekend of the season with a 14 point deficit to Muller in the championship standings, meaning he needed to outscore the Frenchman in the two races to stand any chance of lifting the crown.

The weekend didn't start in the best of fashions when Tarquini crashed out of qualifying, which meant he started behind Muller on the grid for the opening race.

While he secured the crown thanks to a third place finish, Tarquini crossed the flag in seventh place – which meant he was in a position to fight for victory in the final race of the season.

The Italian ran third in the race behind James Thompson and Augusto Farfus but when Thompson crashed out on the penultimate lap, Tarquini looked set for second.

On the final lap however, Farfus slid off into the wall and Tarquini was powerless to avoid hitting an errant wheel from the BMW and was unable to nurse his car to the flag.

“I didn't really expect to win the championship today because I was far from Yvan,” he said. “He made a fantastic season and scored a lot of points and it was quite impossible to beat him. Sometimes I was faster than him and sometimes slower. And in terms of competition it was in all races.

“He had a fantastic season and I think it was very tough for me to beat him. I scored many zeros and to win the championship I think you must score the points in every round. Sometimes I had bad luck sometimes a made mistakes. I have nothing to regret.

“It is also my way to approach the races, I am always focused on the victory and I don't want to finish second or third but sometimes you must adapt your style to the championship and this was not the case.”