To Zandvoort looking to retake the lead
After no more than a week it is already time for BRC Racing Team and its drivers Gabriele Tarquini and Norbert Michelisz to return to the track.
From May 19th to 21st Zandvoort circuit will host the Race of Netherlands, the fourth round of the FIA World Touring Car Cup (WTCR). The three races at the circuit, spread over Sunday and Monday on a holiday weekend follow a very intense week for BRC Racing Team’s engineers and technicians, who had to work hard to restore the two Hyundai i30 N TCR after Nürburgring’s crashes.
The team approached the German races with a careful and conservative approach, though they were able to closely match the performance of the Hyundai’s run by another team. Only a week later the visit to the 4,307 kilometre Dutch track, the most northerly venue of the season, falls perfectly for the purposes of the team, who will aim to return to the form shown in Hungary and Morocco, hoping to regain the lead in the drivers’ and teams’ standings.
Norbert Michelisz, who in the German weekend consolidated his fourth place in the drivers’ standings, gaining 27 points, comments: “We had a decent race weekend in Germany. The car showed good speed with the additional ballast weight compared to the others, although we were not rewarded with a lot of points. I was racing in Zandvoort two years ago, and really liked the atmosphere and layout of the track. I have some circuit knowledge and because the rhythm is a bit like a mini Nordschleife, I hope we can fight for good points again, although the latest BoP adjustments put us in a very difficult position. My target is to finish as high as possible in all three races and to score important points for the championship fight”.
The Italian Gabriele Tarquini, who on the "Green Hell" proved to be fast, declares: “Looking for some pictures of the circuit on the internet I saw some from the 2007 WTCC race. It’s the only time I raced at Zandvoort, and I won Race 2. I had completely forgotten it! I don’t remember much of the track apart from the first bend, the famous “Tarzan” hairpin. The track looks interesting, with so many fast bends it will be a challenge for us and our Hyundai i30 N TCR. We are one of the few teams that hasn’t tested on the Dutch track. However, that shouldn’t be a major handicap, because the circuit was completely resurfaced last year. I also hope to be in perfect physical shape after the Nürburgring crash in order to be able to push through this weekend.
Round 4 WTCR Race of Netherlands 2018 – Circuit Zandvoort
Timetable All times local (GMT +02:00)
SATURDAY 19 TH MAY
11.50 AM – 12.20 PM Free Practice 1(30 minutes)
15.00 PM – 15.30 PM Free Practice 2 (30 minutes)
SUNDAY 20 TH MAY
8.30 AM – 9.00 AM Qualifying (30 minutes)
16.20 PM – 16.50 PM Race 1 (12 laps)
MONDAY 21 TH MAY
8.30 AM – 8.50 AM Qualifying Q1 (20 minutes)
8.55 AM – 9.05 AM Qualifying Q2 (10 minutes)
9.10 AM (start first car) Qualifying Q3
12.15 PM – 12.45 PM Race 2 (12 laps)
16.35 PM – 17.10 PM Race 3 (15 laps)
OVERALL RANKINGS - DRIVERS
1 – #48 Yvan Muller FRA - MRacing - HYUNDAI - pt. 137
2 – #30 Gabriele Tarquini ITA - BRC Racing Team - HYUNDAI - pt. 118
3 – #11 Thed Björk SWE - MRacing - HYUNDAI - pt. 112
4 – #5 Norbert Michelisz HUN - BRC Racing Team - HYUNDAI - pt. 102
5 – #68 Yann Ehrlacher FRA - ALL-INKL.COM Münnich Motorsport - HONDA - pt. 91
6 – #12 Rob Huff GBR - Sébastien Loeb Racing - VOLKSWAGEN - pt. 82
7 – #86 Esteban Guerrieri ARG - ALL-INKL.COM Münnich Motorsport - HONDA - pt. 74
8 – #69 Jean-Karl Vernay FRA - Audi Sport Leopard Lukoil Team - AUDI - pt. 74
9 – #69 Pepe Oriola SPA - Campos Racing – CUPRA – pt. 50
10 – #25 Mehdi Bennani MAR - Sébastien Loeb Racing - VOLKSWAGEN - pt. 44
OVERALL RANKINGS - TEAMS
1 – MRacing - HYUNDAI - pt. 261
1 – BRC Racing Team - HYUNDAI - pt. 227
3 – ALL-INKL.COM Münnich Motorsport - HONDA - pt. 169
4 – Sébastien Loeb Racing - VOLKSWAGEN - pt. 137
5 – Audi Sport Leopard Lukoil Team - AUDI - pt. 106
6 – Team Oscaro by Campos Racing - CUPRA - pt. 56
7 – Boutsen Ginion Racing - HONDA - pt. 51
8 – Audi Sport Team Comtoyou - AUDI - pt. 42
9 – Comtoyou Racing - AUDI - pt. 21
10 – Zengo Motorsport - CUPRA - pt.