Honda duo confident ahead of finale.

N.Technology pair James Thompson and Andre Couto will hope to end the 2008 World Touring Car Championship season in style this weekend as the series heads to Macau for the final round of the year.

Couto goes into the weekend having returned to the Italian team's line-up for the second straight year, although he will hope for more luck than twelve months ago when he failed to make it race day after a crash in qualifying.

The Macau expert had his first taste of the Honda Accord Euro R during a test at Okayama following the penultimate round of the year and he said he was confident going into the weekend.

"I had a chance to test the car straight after the last WTCC rounds in Okayama," he said. "It's very different from last year's N.Technology car but I found my bearings quickly and feel confident for this weekend. If James and I can have clear runs in qualifying and stay out of trouble during the races, we have the speed to get some good results!"

Thompson goes into the final rounds with seven top-ten finishes so far this season, including a win and third place in Imola, and will look to end the year on a high.

"This year has been full of mixed fortunes," he said. "We had a difficult start but we also enjoyed some superb results. Imola was an amazing weekend, we truly appreciated our win and third place, as well as finishing fourth in Okayama.

"Macau is a very tricky circuit, with limited opportunities for overtaking so qualifying will be more important than ever. Andr? will be carrying a lot of ballast, the maximum of 70 kg in fact, and I will have 24 kg on board, which will make things more challenging but we are prepared."