BRC Racing Team score great results at WTCR Race of Portugal
The BRC Racing Team took a very positive result from the race weekend in Portugal where, on the city circuit of Vila Real, the fifth round of the FIA ??World Touring Car Cup (WTCR) took place. The team’s two Hyundai i30 N TCR were protagonists among the leading group again, thanks to the excellent work of the team and the competitive performances of Gabriele Tarquini and Norbert Michelisz.
The Italian driver, sick with the flu for much of the weekend, was able to set the third fastest time in Qualifying on Sunday to gain important points in the general standings. Gabriele aka "Cinghio" ended the final race of the weekend on the second step of the podium, and only a flat tyre on the last lap prevented him from taking third place in Race 1. The 42 points collected revitalize the title ambitions of Tarquini, who is now only 22 points from the championship leader.
Norbert Michelisz, after taking third place in Qualifying 1, was involved in a major accident that characterized the first Portuguese race. The car, due to damage to the rollcage, was not able to join the restart, and only thanks to the extraordinary repair work of BRC Racing Team, was able to rejoin the competition on Sunday for the remaining two races. Back behind the wheel the Hungarian driver, despite having injured his wrist trying to avoid the Race 1 crash, was superlative. A fifth place in Race 2 was followed by third in Race 3, behind teammate Gabriele Tarquini. Thanks to the 33 points won Michelisz was able to rise back to sixth place in the drivers’ points’ standings, and helped BRC Racing Team go back to the second place of the teams’ championship.
Following the final race of the weekend Gabriele Tarquini said: “It was a tough weekend for me because the weather conditions and the temperature were probably not the best for the flu and high fever I had before the races. Qualifying was very difficult, but luckily, at last I did a good lap. The car was very good and I must thank all the BRC team for the support they gave me. The car proved to be really good on this track”.
Norbert Michelisz says: “After the crash I was close to packing my bags and going back home, but it was just an amazing job by BRC Racing Team to get the car back on track. The least I could do on Sunday was to give them something back, so I’m really happy to have finished on the podium. This weekend was maybe the most difficult of my racing career, so I’m really happy and really proud. The second day was a bit tricky because of my wrist which was injured in the crash. The first time after, when I sat in the car I tried to manoeuvre on the steering wheel I thought I cannot drive. However, I stayed focused through qualifying and the races and it felt much better than expected. Overall I am very happy to be able to have raced on Sunday and glad to have scored important points for the championship”.
Slovakia will host the next WTCR challenges, which will take place on the 5.299 meters of the Slovakia Ring from July 13th to 15th.
Race 1 WTCR 2018 Portugal – Circuito Internacional de Vila Real – 13 laps
1 – Yvan Muller - MRacing - YMR 02:36:58.962
2 – Esteban Guerrieri - ALL-INKL.COM Münnich Motorsport + 2.060
3 – Pepe Oriola - Campos Racing + 10.596
4 – Gabriele Tarquini - BRC Racing Team + 12.925
5 – Jean-Karl Vernay - Audi Sport Leopard Lukoil Team + 13.926
6 – Aurélien Comte - DG Sport Competition + 14.186
7 – Benjamin Lessennes - Boutsen Ginion Racing + 16.696
8 – Nathanael Berthon - Comtoyou Racing + 19.937
9 – Gordon Shedden - Audi Sport Leopard Lukoil Team + 20.926
10 – Frédéric Vervisch - Audi Sport team Comtoyou + 20.678
NC – Norbert Michelisz - BRC Racing Team
Race 2 WTCR 2018 Portugal – Circuito Internacional de Vila Real – 11 laps
1 – Mato Homola - DG Sport Competition 22:57.517
2 – Yvan Muller - MRacing - YMR + 0.764
3 – Pepe Oriola - Campos Racing + 2.025
4 – Jean-Karl Vernay - Audi Sport Leopard Lukoil Team + 3.635
5 – Norbert Michelisz - BRC Racing Team + 4.144
6 – Gordon Shedden - Audi Sport Leopard Lukoil Team + 6.335
7 – Yann Ehrlacher - ALL-INKL.COM Münnich Motorsport + 6.413
8 – Aurélien Panis - Comtoyou Racing + 6.975
9 – Gabriele Tarquini - BRC Racing Team + 7.284
10 – Thed Björk - MRacing - YMR + 7.284
Race 3 WTCR 2018 Portugal – Circuito Internacional de Vila Real – 15 laps
1 – Thed Björk - MRacing - YMR 36:21.453
2 – Gabriele Tarquini - BRC Racing Team +3.193
3 – Norbert Michelisz - BRC Racing Team + 3.640
4 – Pepe Oriola - Campos Racing + 4.170
5 – Mato Homola - DG Sport Competition + 4.781
6 – Frédéric Vervisch - Audi Sport team Comtoyou + 5.205
7 – Yann Ehrlacher - ALL-INKL.COM Münnich Motorsport + 5.796
8 – Benjamin Lessennes - Boutsen Ginion Racing + 6.099
9 – Aurélien Panis - Comtoyou Racing + 6.710
10 – Jean-Karl Vernay - Audi Sport Leopard Lukoil Team + 7.216
OVERALL RANKINGS - DRIVERS
1 – #48 Yvan Muller FRA - MRacing - HYUNDAI - pt. 182
2 – #30 Gabriele Tarquini ITA - BRC Racing Team - HYUNDAI - pt. 160
3 – #68 Yann Ehrlacher FRA - ALL-INKL.COM Münnich Motorsport - HONDA - pt. 160
4 – #11 Thed Björk SWE - MRacing - HYUNDAI - pt. 148
5 – #69 Jean-Karl Vernay FRA - Audi Sport Leopard Lukoil Team - AUDI - pt. 146
6 – #5 Norbert Michelisz HUN - BRC Racing Team - HYUNDAI - pt. 135
7 – #12 Rob Huff GBR - Sébastien Loeb Racing - VOLKSWAGEN - pt. 130
8 – #86 Esteban Guerrieri ARG - ALL-INKL.COM Münnich Motorsport - HONDA - pt.129
9 – #74 Pepe Oriola ESP - Campos Racing - CUPRA - pt.113
10 – #22 Frédéric Vervisch BEL - Audi Sport Team Comtoyou - AUDI - pt. 70
OVERALL RANKINGS - TEAMS
1 – MRacing - HYUNDAI - pt. 342
2 – BRC Racing Team - HYUNDAI - pt. 302
3 – ALL-INKL.COM Münnich Motorsport - HONDA - pt. 295
4 – Audi Sport Leopard Lukoil Team - AUDI - pt. 230
5 – Sébastien Loeb Racing - VOLKSWAGEN - pt. 125
6 – Campos Racing - CUPRA - pt. 21
7 – DG Sport Competition - PEUGEOT - pt.106
8 – Audi Sport Team Comtoyou - AUDI - pt. 80
9 – Boutsen Ginion Racing - HONDA - pt. 71
10 – ComtoyouRacing - AUDI - pt. 40
11 – Zengo Motorsport - CUPRA - pt. 7