BRC Racing Team celebrates another spectacular winning weekend in Kumho TCR World Tour
BRC Racing Team drivers Norbert Michelisz and Mikel Azcona converted a fantastic Qualifying into a 1-2 finish in Race 1 at Vallelunga
The third round of the Kumho TCR World Tour also saw Hyundai Motorsport Customer Racing Junior Driver Marco Butti crowned winner of the TCR Italian Festival
Michelisz has extended his lead in the standings to 25 points while Azcona improved from sixth to fourth overall.
It was a spectacular weekend for BRC Racing Team in Vallelunga, the third round of the Kumho TCR World Tour has Norbert Michelisz extending his advantage in the drivers’ competitive ranking.
The event saw TCR World Tour join forces with competitors, normally seen in TCR Italy at the Autodromo Vallelunga, for the one-off TCR Italian Festival. BRC Hyundai N Squadra Corse entered a third Hyundai Elantra N TCR car driven by Hyundai Motorsport Customer Racing Junior Driver Marco Butti.
A fantastic start in Saturday’s Qualifying saw Michelisz and team-mate Mikel Azcona secure a superb front-row lock-out for Race 1. It was tight and competitive around the technical and twisty circuit; Azcona briefly topped the timesheet with his Hyundai Elantra N TCR before being piped to the position. In their final run, to stay in the top twelve, Michelisz finished first with Azcona fifth. However, sadly for Butti, he missed out on progressing to the second Qualifying session by just under nine-hundredths of a second.
The intensity continued as the top-twelve fought for pole position. By the five-minute mark, Michelisz was once again on top of the classification before a late charge from Frédéric Vervisch saw the Hungarian lose provisional pole. However, Michelisz and Azcona were both on a blistering final lap, which saw them both improve their positions. As they met the checkered flag, Michelisz was on pole ahead of Azcona in second by a slim margin of 0.015 seconds.
Race day on Sunday brought intense heat – and pressure from a charging pack. Despite the front-row lock out, nothing was guaranteed for the two BRC Hyundai N Squadra Corse drivers. Azcona made a slightly better start than Michelisz, and the two ran side-by-side for the first few corners. This allowed the duo to work together to see off an initial challenge; they then settled into a consistent rhythm but had to push hard around the 4.010km lap to keep Vervisch at bay.
Azcona set the fastest lap of the race on the fourth lap as the pair looked to pull a gap from those behind. With two laps to go, amid issues for others, the two found themselves with a comfortable cushion for the final kilometres. A dominant race culminated with the two team-mates crossing the line in quick succession, three seconds ahead of the third-place finisher.
Butti meanwhile gained a position and was running in 12th by the end of the first lap. He went door-to-door with his competitors several times, but ultimately had to settle in behind. He was elevated two positions as others fell down the order with problems and finished in 11th.
For the reverse-grid Race 2, Azcona and Michelisz started ninth and tenth, with Butti two rows back in 13th. Taking advantage of a chaotic few opening laps, all three drivers made their way up. By the time the Safety Car was called on the fourth lap, Michelisz was fifth with Azcona just behind in sixth and Butti seventh. Azcona claimed another fastest lap as they chased down the leading group and both he and his Hungarian team-mate successfully managed to overtake on lap ten. The race ended with Michelisz in fourth place and Azcona fifth.
Butti’s seventh place finish in the second race saw him crowned the winner of the TCR Italian Festival; an impressive feat for the Hyundai Motorsport Customer Racing Junior Driver in his debut TCR World Tour event. It was a solid weekend for the local driver under the tutorage of his mentor and BRC Hyundai N Squadra Corse Team Manager, Gabriele Tarquini.
As a result, Michelisz has created an extensive lead in the drivers’ standings and is now 25 points ahead while Azcona powers from sixth to fourth. BRC Hyundai N Squadra Corse remains second in the teams’ standings.
Team Principal Gabriele Rizzo said: “We definitely want more weekends like this! We will never get tired of experiencing these emotions and achieving these successes. I told after Spa all the team was really focus on this event and these extra motivations guided us to score the highest amount of point in a weekend this season. We maximized the knowledge of the circuit in our home event and the good tests had here. Our Hyundai Elantra N TCR cars were amazing as always, all the team made no mistakes and the strategies in qualifying and in races worked perfectly. Congrats to Mikel and Norbi to have delivered again an outstanding performance both on the driving and on team play wise. The victory in the TCR Italian Festival with Marco Butti is simply the icing on the cake, his performance has been continuously improving session by session, and this allowed him to grab the win among the not full season TCR World Tour cars.”
Norbert Michelisz said: “The goal was achieved today to bring home the 1-2 in Race 1, which I am very happy about. It was tight after the start of Race 1 but Mikel and I left each other enough room, and after that I was pushing. Not only was Mikel behind me but the Audi behind him had good pace, so there was no choice but to go flat out. In the end, we did our best, and I’m delighted for Mikel and the team. It was a very important double podium for both the drivers’ and teams’ standings. Coming through from tenth to fourth in Race 2 was tough, but once again great teamwork between myself and Mikel.”
Mikel Azcona said: “A positive weekend here in Vallelunga. We learned many things that we can take into the next rounds. I think we all improved how the car performs under really high temperatures as well – which is crucial as we are heading into several rounds where we will face these conditions. I wish I could have done better in the second race, but it was fantastic to finish on the podium in the first one. It was an intense race and very hot inside the car, but we had an intelligent race. The target was to bring the cars home in the positions we started in, and we did it. It was a fantastic race, I’m very happy for the team and for Norbi.”
Marco Butti said: “The weekend was tough, but in the end I am happy. I improved not only my driving style but also other skills as well. It was also so much fun. I worked very well with my mentor Gabriele, who has been helping me a lot through the Hyundai Motorsport Customer Racing Junior Driver program. It was an exciting weekend and through my collaboration with Gabriele and the team, I finished first in the TCR Italian Festival, which was very important for me personally. Now I am looking forward to the Mugello round of TCR Italy and staying focused.”
2023 Kumho TCR World Tour for Drivers Standings
1. Norbert Michelisz 159
2. Yann Ehrlacher 134
3. Rob Huff 126
4. Mikel Azcona 120
5. Thed Björk 103
6. Nestor Girolami 97
7. Santiago Urrutia 95
8. Frédéric Vervisch 95
9. John Filippi 66
10. Tom Coronel 60
11. Ma Qing Hua 54
12. Kobe Pauwels 50
13. Felipe Fernández 20
14. Marco Butti 20
15. Kevin Ceccon 11
2023 Kumho TCR World Tour for Teams Standings
1. Cyan Racing Lynk & Co 295
2. BRC Hyundai N Squadra Corse 283
3. Audi Sport Team Comtoyou 240
4. ALM Motorsport 117
5. Comtoyou Racing 100
6. Comtoyou 78
7. Volcano Motorsport 34
8. RC2 Racing Team 32
9. SP Compétition 28
10. Aggressive Team Italia 25