BRC Racing Team return to the podium in TCR World Tour Uruguay
• Mikel Azcona secured a second-place finish in Race 2 of the Kumho TCR World Tour at El Pinar
• Norbert Michelisz had two solid points scoring races, as well as clinching points in qualifying to help him retain second place in the Drivers’ standings
• Azcona continues to sit in third place in the Drivers’ standings, with BRC Hyundai N Squadra Corse also retaining their second spot
BRC Racing Team has claimed a seventh podium finish of the season at El Pinar, the fifth round of the Kumho TCR World Tour season, where Mikel Azcona finished second in Race 2.
Azcona was in a favorable third position to start Race 2 on Sunday afternoon, thanks to the partially reversed-grid format. He made a flying start, taking advantage of the two cars ahead making contact and slotted into second. The Spaniard was hot on the heels of the car in first place, applying pressure, but was unable to find a way past. It was a similar story at both safety car restarts, and with the checkered flag in sight, he had to settle for second.
Team-mate Michelisz had a great start to Race 2, moving up from seventh to sixth on the opening corners of the first lap. The Hungarian’s race involved extensive defending from the car behind, but with the safety car deployment at the halfway mark, he was able to close in on fifth position at the restart. A few laps later, Michelisz was hit by another competitor which made him lose two places to eighth, but there were only a few laps remaining to make those back up before the finish. After the race, a time penalty was applied to a driver ahead, elevating Michelisz into seventh.
In Sunday morning's Race 1, Azcona started in eighth but a far from ideal start dropped him to ninth after the opening laps. He pushed for the entirety of the 25-minute race to catch the car ahead, making sure he was placed firmly in their rear-view mirror, and in the final few laps was able to regain his starting position and stayed there until he crossed the finish line.
Michelisz qualified fourth for Race 1, securing an extra six crucial points in the title battle. A slow start at the beginning saw the Hungarian drop to fifth position, but he was quick to try and fight back. He was involved in a three-way battle for third for the majority of the race, but played it safe to secure a decent haul of points, crossing the line in fifth. After contact during the race, Michelisz was handed a five-second time penalty after the race which dropped him to sixth.
As a result, BRC Hyundai N Squadra Corse retain second place in the Kumho TCR World Tour for Teams whilst Michelisz and Azcona still hold second and third in the Drivers’ standings respectively.
Norbert Michelisz said: “The atmosphere here has been fantastic all weekend, and it’s been great to compete with such a large grid, however on a short circuit it could get busy at times. On track it was a tough weekend for us, we didn’t seem to have good speed on the straights, and this was limiting us in qualifying and especially in the races to attack the cars at the front. I was unlucky in the second race, but racing can be like this sometimes. I’ve still scored some good points for the standings. It was nice to experience so many fans with a passion for motor racing and we turn our focus now to the Argentina races next week.”
Mikel Azcona said: “I’m very happy to have finished second in Race 2, earning a good number of points for the standings. We suffered more than we expected this weekend, so the podium finish feels like a victory to me. We are still in contention for the title, which is amazing – there’s a long journey to go but it is encouraging. A big thank you to the team for the hard work they have put in, they gave me a good package in the Hyundai Elantra N TCR. As a driver this weekend it has been great as you always want as many cars as possible on the grid to compete with. I’m looking forward to the next race in Argentina and we will fight like always till the checkered flag.”
BRC Hyundai N Squadra Corse Team Principal Gabriele Rizzo said: “We had clear targets before the event, and we can be happy as we almost achieved them all. Being again with both cars in the top 10 in qualifying on a 30 cars field on a brand-new circuit for us was the first of those objectives. We succeeded and this has granted good possibilities of scoring points with both drivers in both races. Avoid withdrawal from the races was the second one and both Norbert and Mikel achieved that driving always on the limit through two proper spectacular and tough touring car races. The number of points earned could have been even better, but it was effected by just good and not fantastic grid position due to qualifying. Anyway, the points grabbed are enough to keep both Norbert and Mikel in the battle for the titles. We look forward the Argentine round with the same focus”.
2023 Kumho TCR World Tour for Drivers’ Standings
1. Yann Ehrlacher 235
2. Norbert Michelisz 215
3. Mikel Azcona 205
4. Rob Huff 197
5. Thed Björk 190
6. Nestor Girolami 190
7. Frédéric Vervisch 179
8. Santiago Urrutia 172
9. Ma Qing Hua 134
10. Tom Coronel 76
11. Kobe Pauwels 74
12. John Filippi 70
13. Kevin Ceccon 23
14. Felipe Fernández 20
15. Marco Butti 20
2023 Kumho TCR World Tour for Teams’ Standings
1. Cyan Racing Lynk & Co 546
2. BRC Hyundai N Squadra Corse 430
3. Audi Sport Team Comtoyou 401
4. ALM Motorsport 12
5. Comtoyou Racing 148
6. Comtoyou 91
7. Aggressive Team Italia 47
8. Squadra Martino Racing 42
9. Volcano Motorsport 36
10. RC2 Racing Team 32