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Tiago Monteiro thrilled home fans in Portugal to complete a WTCC double victory for SEAT.

Following on from Rickard Rydell's win in race one at the former Formula One circuit of Estoril, local hero Monteiro followed suit in race two to claim his second triumph of the season.

"A fantastic weekend and a very special one for me. After my victory in Mexico I have had a string of bad results," Monteiro said afterwards.

"I want to thank the team for their help and their work, as it is this that has allowed us to get a magnificent overall result, thanks to Rickard's victory, and my own, and the two podium finishes that Yvan got. I am very happy."

However, it was a disastrous weekend for current leader and team-mate Gabriele Tarquini, who failed to score in either round for the first time this year.

The Italian, who held a 15-point cushion coming into the weekend, saw his lead slashed to a single point by another SEAT driver, Yvan Muller.

The Frenchman finished with a double podium by claiming third in race one and the runner-up spot in the second race.

Tarquini failed to make any impact as he felt the full effect of carrying the maximum 70kg of success ballast for the first time this season, finishing 13th and 11th respectively.

Rydell followed up his first win of the season by claiming a point for eighth later in the day, and now trails Tarquini by 10 points at the halfway point of the season.

Reigning triple world champion Andy Priaulx managed to clamber onto the podium in race two with a third-place finish after taking sixth in the opening 12-lap showdown at the 4.183km track.

The nine-point haul ensures Priaulx remains the leading BMW driver in fourth place going into the next round of the series at Brands Hatch in two weeks' time, trailing Tarquini by 15 points.

Priaulx, though, knows he faces an uphill task if he is to again retain his title as it was apparent his car lacked straight-line speed to combat the SEATs.

"To breach the gap to them is going to be a big step as everybody can visually see," remarked Priaulx.

"Although this is a great result for the team and we've closed the gap to Gabriele, I'm not getting excited because of the performance difference between the cars.

"It means there is still a tough fight ahead for me, but then in previous seasons I have always had to fight to the end."

Priaulx then joked: "I think the best thing for me is to get a turbo-charger for my car and then I've a good chance!"

Other than Monteiro, who was thrilled to win on home soil, it was Yvan Muller that was the happiest at the end of the weekend.

"The championship is still very long," remarked Muller.

"I've scored 14 points more than Gabriele this weekend, so it shows anything can happen."

Behind Priaulx in race two came team-mate Felix Porteiro, who had started on pole, followed by the Chevrolet duo of Robert Huff and Nicola Larini, with BMW's Jorg Muller and Rydell seventh and eighth.

As for James Thompson, he endured a woeful weekend as he was forced to withdraw from both races due to engine problems with his Honda that blighted practice.

Results and standings:

Race One: 1 Rickard Rydell (Swe) SEAT 22mins 05.135secs, 2 Nicola Larini (Ita) Chevrolet 22:05.951, 3 Yvan Muller (Fra) SEAT 22:13.295, 4 Robert Huff (Gbr) Chevrolet 22:15.816, 5 Jordi Gene (Spa) SEAT 22:17.451, 6 Andy Priaulx (Gbr) BMW 22:17.740, 7 Tiago Monteiro (Por) SEAT 22:18.357, 8 Felix Porteiro (Spa) BMW 22:18.797, 9 Jorg Muller (Ger) BMW 22:18.982, 10 Tom Coronel (Ned) SEAT 22:20.001

Race Two: 1 Tiago Monteiro (Por) SEAT 22mins 06.495secs, 2 Yvan Muller (Fra) SEAT 22:09.130, 3 Andy Priaulx (Gbr) BMW 22:09.416, 4 Felix Porteiro (Spa) BMW 22:10.073, 5 Robert Huff (Gbr) Chevrolet 22:10.523, 6 Nicola Larini (Ita) Chevrolet 22:10.961, 7 Jorg Muller (Ger) BMW 22:12.737, 8 Rickard Rydell (Swe) SEAT 22:13.990, 9 Jordi Gene (Spa) SEAT 22:16.328, 10 Augusto Farfus (Bra) BMW 22:16.537

Drivers' Championship Standings: 1 Gabriele Tarquini (Ita) SEAT 58pts, 2 Yvan Muller (Fra) SEAT 57, 3 Rickard Rydell (Swe) SEAT 48, 4 Andy Priaulx (Gbr) BMW 43, 5 Robert Huff (Gbr) Chevrolet 36, 6 Jordi Gene (Spa) SEAT 34, 7 Nicola Larini (Ita) Chevrolet 30, 8 Jorg Muller (Ger) BMW 28, 8 Felix Porteiro (Spa) BMW 28, 10 Augusto Farfus (Bra) BMW 27.

Manufacturers' Standings: 1 SEAT 172pts, 2 BMW 135, 3 Chevrolet 115, 4 Honda 19.

Sporting Life / Eurosport