BRC Hyundai N Squadra Corse secure fourth Kumho TCR World Tour victory at Mount Panorama
- Norbert Michelisz claimed his third win of the 2023 Kumho TCR World Tour season in Race 2
- Mikel Azcona bounced back in Race 2 in what was a tough weekend for the Spaniard, making up twelve positions
- Michelisz drops to third in the Kumho TCR World Tour for Drivers, trailing by one point going into the final round of the season.
BRC Hyundai N Squadra Corse has claimed its fourth victory of the 2023 Kumho TCR World Tour season at Mount Panorama Circuit, where Norbert Michelisz crossed the line first in Race 2.
Michelisz started Race 2 on pole and fought back after initially dropping to third on the opening corners. With important points on offer in the driver standings, the Hungarian had nothing to lose and made up the two positions by lap four, taking the lead, before managing his Hyundai Elantra N TCR for the remainder of the race to secure his third win of the season.
The weekend did not get off to the best start for the Hungarian, as he qualified 11th, behind his main rivals in the title battle. After dropping to 12th at the start of Race 1, Michelisz was determined to fight back and made his way into tenth, which guaranteed him the top starting position for Race 2 on Sunday.
Race 3 was all about scoring as many points as possible, and from his starting position in sixth, Michelisz did not have the best start, dropping to seventh. However, he was lucky to avoid any dramas with cars around him and made up two positions to fifth, a position he would retain after the race finished under safety car conditions.
Team-mate Mikel Azcona had a better qualifying session, even while carrying the maximum compensation weight, securing fifth. The Spaniard started Race 1 in third after grid penalties had been applied to cars ahead but slipped to fourth at the start. Disaster struck on lap six when his Hyundai Elantra N TCR picked up a puncture causing him to rapidly fall down the field and attempt to limp back to the pit lane. He was unsuccessful in doing so and had to pull over at the side of the circuit.
Race 2 was all about redemption for Azcona after starting in 22nd. A fantastic start saw him gain six positions in the opening lap to 16th, and he was not stopping there. The Spaniard made some great overtakes and by lap three was up to 12th. By the chequered flag he had gained another two positions and finished in tenth.
It was a similar story in Race 3, where Azcona started in 19th, and by the end of the first lap had made several overtakes to sit in 15th. His determination to move through the field was evident as he reached tenth position. However, on the penultimate lap he made contact with the wall while under safety car conditions and had to retire immediately.
Even after scoring a good haul of points, Michelisz drops to third in the Kumho TCR World Tour for Drivers, trailing by a single point, whilst Azcona remains fourth. BRC Hyundai N Squadra Corse will head to Macau battling for second place in the Kumho TCR World Tour for Teams after dropping to third.
Team Principal of BRC Hyundai N Squadra Corse Gabriele Rizzo said:" Bathurst is absolutely one of the most iconic circuits for touring cars and it proved to be real challenge. You would like to have much more time of free practice to prepare the qualifying and race, and this was the case of Norbi that was not able to exploit the full potential of the car in Q1 and drives into a poor race 1 starting position for him. But his reaction as a driver and ours as a team was great and we were able to score great points and even a win in race 2. We enter in last event 1 point from the lead, I really feel our destiny is in our hands as we just must perform better than the competitors to grab another championship. Mikel on the other hand was on fire all the weekend, having the maximum compensation weight was not easy on a track like this, if you clean this effect, he was absolutely the fastest driver from qualy to race3. Some episodes, continuing the story telling of his season, influenced is overall result but I am sure better time will come for him as he is continuously offering outstanding performance. Tomorrow we’ll move to another continent to approach the third consecutive race weekend in a row and we will need to gather maximum concentration to give our all in the final race.”
Norbert Michelisz said: “It’s been a busy weekend, but I am very proud of how it turned out. Winning Race 2 after a not so good start and collecting a lot of points in the other two races is a nice feeling. We had the most to lose in Race 1, so the key was to finish inside the top ten to have the good starting position in Race 2, which we achieved. It’s been important to score points in all the races to keep in the battle for the title and I want to say a big thank you to the team for allowing me to do that with the Hyundai Elantra N TCR. Mount Panorama is an amazing place, and the atmosphere has been incredible.”
Mikel Azcona said: “This weekend has been difficult. I’ve been in good positions to earn a lot of points this weekend even with the maximum compensation weight, but luck was not on my side. Getting a puncture in Race 1 and then a steering issue caused me to finish Race 3 in the wall. We saw the potential, and we had the pace with the Hyundai Elantra N TCR, especially in Race 2 starting from the back and recovering well through the field. It’s been a dream come true to race at Mount Panorama though, and the competition has been super tough, but I’ve really enjoyed it.”
2023 Kumho TCR World Tour for Drivers’ Standings After round 8
1. Yann Ehrlacher 384
2. Rob Huff 384
3. Norbert Michelisz 383
4. Mikel Azcona 301
5. Frédéric Vervisch 299
6. Nestor Girolami 293
7. Thed Björk 288
8. Santiago Urrutia 248
9. Ma Qing Hua 218
10. Will Brown 92
11. Tom Coronel 76
12. Kobe Pauwels 74
13. John Filippi 70
14. Josh Buchan 36
15. Bailey Sweeny 30
2023 Kumho TCR World Tour for Teams’ Standings After round 8
1. Cyan Racing Lynk & Co 831
2. Audi Sport Team Comtoyou 684
3. BRC Hyundai N Squadra Corse 682
4. ALM Motorsport 182
5. Comtoyou Racing 148
6. Wall Racing 133
7. Garry Rogers Motorsport 99
8. Melbourne Performance Centre 98
9. HMO Customer Racing 96
10. Comtoyou 91