Superb kick off for BRC Hyundai N Squadra Corse in the Kumho FIA TCR World Tour first Race in Italy
· BRC Hyundai N Squadra Corse team got its Kumho FIA TCR World Tour season off to perfect start with double race victory
· Title holder Norbert Michelisz claimed Race 1 spoils before Néstor Girolami lands Race 2 win
· Mikel Azcona added to impressive team points haul with two fourth places in the new-look Elantra N TCR.
April 22, 2024 – Norbert Michelisz and team newcomer Néstor Girolami got BRC Hyundai N Squadra Corse’s 2024 Kumho FIA TCR World Tour campaign off to a sensational start with a double victory in Italy.
At the same Vallelunga track where the Hyundai Motorsport Customer Racing-supported outfit recorded a 1-2 finish last season, polesitter Michelisz overcame a tricky start in damp conditions to overtake Yann Ehrlacher and forge ahead to the Race 1 win – and begin his TCR World Tour title defence in impressive fashion.
Experienced TCR campaigner Girolami, who was making his debut in Hyundai Motorsport-built machinery, put the disappointment of a stall at the start of Race 1 behind him to lead from the front in Race 2 for a resounding victory during a strong first competitive appearance for the new-look Hyundai Elantra N TCR.
Team-mate and 2022 FIA WTCR winner Mikel Azcona made his mark in both races with a pair of fourth place finishes. He was promoted to fourth in Race 1 after Marco Butti was penalised for contact between the pair and again benefitted from a penalty – this time for Esteban Guerrieri – to take the same result in Race 2.
BRC Hyundai N Squadra Corse’s success at its home event represented the best start to a season for the team and the third time that the team based in Cherasco has claimed a clean sweep of victories in Touring Car Championships, following previous results in Ningbo in 2018 and Bahrain in 2022.
Team Principal Gabriele Rizzo said: “Superb start! To have the first event at home, in Italy, and being the team that have won last two driver championships put quite a big pressure on us. When you approach the start of a new year you do not know the level of the competitors and the first event is the real check about where we are. It's great to see we are competitive even an accurate technical analysis show we haven't the fastest technical package. Some extra work is needed to further improve and despite a sporting result with pole position and double race victory we have already spotted as usual some area of improvement, not only on the car and drivers but also in our internal procedure, on which we'll work hard on. Key of a so successful weekend was clearly the qualifying where I feel we made the difference with a great strategy managing perfectly the combination of front tyres preparation, slipstreams and grabbing both pole positions. In two weeks we'll hit the track again in Marrakesh where we have great memories from 2018 when the current victories cycle has begun.”
Driver Notes: #196 Mikel Azcona (ESP), Hyundai Elantra N TCR
· 2022 FIA WTCR winner battles to fourth place in Race 1 after contact from rival
· Repeat result in Race 2 completes consistent weekend for Spanish racer
Azcona said: “It was a very challenging start in Race 1 with mixed conditions. Unfortunately, I had a bad start which cost me a couple of positions and then there was the hit from [Marco] Butti. I started to recover, the pace was there and the car was working nice. I had some moments with [Thed] Björk when he was defending probably too much in my opinion, but I was able to overtake him and I was happy with the points. Race 2 was a bit like a survival race, but with such a long way to go in the season it was good to bring the points home. It’s a positive start to the year so I am happy.”
Driver Notes: #105 Norbert Michelisz (HUN), Hyundai Elantra N TCR
· Reigning World Tour champion gets perfect title defence start with Race 1 victory
· Sixth place in Race 2 leaves the Hungarian with the Driver points leading head to Round 2
Michelisz said: “I managed a decent start in Race 1 even though my grid position was in the shade with a lot of water on the track. Yann [Ehrlacher] did a very good start and overtook me but I felt strong and was able to follow him. I studied his lines and then waited to make my move and the car was just great. Then I was pushing all the way because he started to close the gap. I did my best and it was a very nice way to start the season. In Race 2 Starting from P10 the target had to be to score points, which we managed to achieve. This doesn’t mean it was an easy race because we had two safety cars because of cars crashing so I did my best to stay out of trouble. I managed to achieve that and, in the end, I’m very happy with the result and the points.”
Driver Notes: #129 Néstor Girolami (ARG), Hyundai Elantra N TCR
· Argentinian overcomes Race 1 stalled start to claim tenth place
· Girolami then claims lights-to-flag victory in Race 2 on debut for BRC Hyundai N Squadra Corse
Girolami said: “I was very sad not to do a proper start in Race 1 because we practised a lot, but I had massive wheelspin – we need to look at the data. But I managed to come back and finish P10 in the same place I started. It was damage limitation for us. Race 2 was really nice. I knew how important the start was but from there on I had to push a lot, especially after every safety car. I managed to make a gap of two seconds. The car was very good, the team did a great job and I felt I had the control of the race.”
Race 1 results:
1 N. Michelisz Hyundai Elantra N - 15 laps in 25:41.522
2 Y. Ehrlacher Lynk & Co 03 +1.758s
3 E. Guerrieri Honda Civic Type R FL5 +2.911s
4 M. Azcona Hyundai Elantra N +7.809s
10 N. Girolami Hyundai Elantra N +26.940s
Race 2 results:
1 N. Girolami Hyundai Elantra N - 17 laps in 35:17.984
2 S. Urrutia Lynk & Co 03 +3.237s
3 M. Butti Honda Civic Type R FL5 +11.683s
4 M. Azcona Hyundai Elantra N +12.548s
6 N. Michelisz Hyundai Elantra N +14.245s
2024 Kumho FIA TCR World Tour for Drivers (provisional)
After Round 1:
1 N. Michelisz 61
2 M. Azcona 46
3 M. Butti 42
4 E. Guerrieri 42
5 S. Urrutia 39
6 N. Girolami 38
2024 Kumho FIA TCR World Tour for Teams (provisional)
After Round 1:
1 BRC Hyundai N Squadra Corse 121
2 Lynk & Co Cyan Racing 98
3 GOAT Racing 82