Michelisz increases lead in Drivers' standings after Uruguay round
- Defending champion Norbert Michelisz extended his lead at the top of the Drivers’ standings in his Hyundai Elantra N TCR after the Kumho FIA TCR World Tour weekend in Uruguay
- The two races at the Autódromo Victor Borrat Fabini in El Pinar completed a double-header of events for the series and BRC Hyundai N Squadra Corse in South America
- Mikel Azcona took a strong second place from the front row of the Race 1 grid, while Néstor Girolami scores in both races.
Reigning champion Norbert Michelisz increased his lead at the top of the the Kumho FIA TCR World Tour standings as BRC Hyundai N Squadra Corse battled through a challenging weekend at the Autódromo Victor Borrat Fabini in El Pinar, Uruguay.
On a cold and grey morning, the trio of Hyundai Elantra N TCR cars lined up second, third and fourth on the Race 1 grid, Azcona ahead of Michelisz and Girolami. From the lights and throughout the race, which was interrupted by the safety car on two occasions, Spaniard Azcona kept the pressure on pole position starter Yann Ehrlacher to score a fine runner-up podium result.
Michelisz came through an eventful opener to claim fourth, despite carrying 30 kilograms of Compensation Weight. The Hungarian lost a place to Thed Björk when racing resumed after the first safety car, then another when Santiago Urrutia made contact in a dive down the inside at the final hairpin. Michelisz was then shuffled further back and dropped as low as seventh, before Ma Qing Hua and Esteban Guerrieri clashed, promoting the points leader back to a top-five finish.
Similarly, Girolami lost a spot to Guerrieri after the first safety car, then pulled a great move on his fellow Argentinian driver at the hairpin to take the place back. Girolami ran ahead of Michelisz after the Hungarian was delayed by Urrutia’s move, but ceded position to finish right behind his team-mate in fifth.
A red flag for a start procedure issued delayed the longer, partially reversed grid Race 2 later in the afternoon, with Girolami, Michelisz and Azcona lining up seventh, eighth and ninth respectively. The race resumed under the safety car, with the trio of Hyundai in the thick of the action. Girolami led the team charge in the early stages, but Michelisz kept his cool to secure a second fourth place finish of the weekend. With Race 1 winner Ehrlacher, who had moved up to the runner-up spot in the points, failing to score in the second encounter, it means Michelisz leaves South America with a 25-point lead at the top of the standings over Guerrieri.
Azcona followed Michelisz home in fifth, the pair passing John Filippi’s Audi in the final five minutes. Girolami was unlucky to lose out in a subsequent battle with Filippi, but rallied in the closing stages to demote his rival for a points-scoring eighth place.
Team Principal of BRC Hyundai N Squadra Corse, Gabriele Rizzo, said: “Competition here in El Pinar was again very high. We made a great qualifying getting the most from the package we have. Then were two tough races where we can compete in braking and cornering but there was no chance on the two straights before and after the hairpin where we didn’t have the speed to overtake, and it was impossible to defend the positions. Happy to be able to celebrate a masterclass weekend for Mikel, he was always at the top and in Race1 was even in position to chase the win. Norbi did again a solid weekend, considering he was carrying 30kg of compensation weight. Bebu was super professional as always and perfect in many situations, but in a couple of key moment in Races he lost some important fights. We’ll go deep in these with him discussing what can be done differently to further leverage his contribution to the team. The final balance of these two South America weekend is great for the driver standings, as we extended the leads with Norby. Instead, we lost other grounds in the teams standing, but with other two races weekend to the finish everything is still open and certainly we will not give up.”
The Kumho FIA TCR World Tour heads next to the Zhuzhou International Circuit in China on October 18-20, before the season concludes during the Macau Grand Prix weekend on November 14-17.
Driver Notes: #105 Norbert Michelisz (HUN), Hyundai Elantra N TCR
- Defending Kumho FIA TCR World Tour champion finishes fourth in tough opener
- Hungarian repeats the feat in Race 2 to extend his points lead
Michelisz said: “It was a busy first race, eventful. I was trying to give my best but my pace was not fantastic and I always had pressure from behind. I’m happy to score points because it could have been worse than this. Contact is the nature of the game. I’ve been doing this for some time now and the closer you get to the end of the season the more you have to prepare for this kind of action. I take it as it comes. Race 2 again was busy! The first start was confusing, then at the restart I tried to wait for my chances and in the end the target was to try to score points, which we luckily managed to achieve. Again, it could have been much worse. My Hyundai Elantra N TCR had some contact, but I made it to the finish. So I’m happy with the weekend, especially with the extra kilos we were carrying.”
Driver Notes: #196 Mikel Azcona (ESP), Hyundai Elantra N TCR
- Spaniard starts and finishes second in accomplished Race 1 drive
- Supporting role to Michelisz in Race 2 nets fifth place
Azcona said: “I’m happy with second place in Race 1, which was our target. I wanted to try for the victory, but after my really good start Ehrlacher was defending properly and he had a very good car in the last sector on the straight. I was never in a position to try a move at the last hairpin, but in the first and second sector the guys gave me a really competitive car to fight. To start the second race in P9 and finish P6 is positive, but it was a very tricky race. There were so many slower cars in front and our Hyundai Elantra N TCR was amazing after a couple of changes between races. It was impressive, I tell you! I had the pace to go for the podium, 100 per cent. But I did what was asked on the radio, and P4 and P5 is target completed.”
Driver Notes: #129 Néstor Girolami (ARG), Hyundai Elantra N TCR
- Argentinian works hard for his team to finish fifth in Race 1
- New-for-2024 BRC Hyundai N Squadra Corse recruit adds further points with ninth in Race 2
Girolami said: “The first race was quite difficult. I lost momentum at the start and it was not the racing we want. The start of the second race was quite confused, with yellow lights. I got a very good start, but then there was a red flag. We started from the same positions behind the safety car, I was building confidence, in a good position fighting for a podium. But in one of my moves trying to take the Audi I ended up on the wrong line, lost the momentum and some positions. I have to say sorry to the team because I made mistakes and lost the opportunity of scoring good points. I prefer to cool down now, see the videos and try to learn from it. My Hyundai Elantra N TCR was fantastic, we had very good pace, although it feels we are losing a bit of speed on the straight. I co-operated with Norbi and Mikel whenever I could, but in my personal weekend I feel I didn’t deliver what I needed. I will work to come back stronger in China.”
Race 1 results:
1 Y. Ehrlacher Lynk & Co 03 17 laps in 27:31.951
2 M. Azcona Hyundai Elantra N +0.687s
3 T. Björk Lynk & Co 03 +2.639s
4 N. Michelisz Hyundai Elantra N TR +10.638s
5 N. Girolami Hyundai Elantra N +10.734s
6 E. Guerrieri Honda Civic Type R FL5 +10.979s
7 S. Urrutia Lynk & Co 03 +11.255s
8 P. Cardoso Peugeot 308 TCR +12.927s
9 J. Angel Rosso Toyota Corolla +13.867s
10 M. Rossi Peugeot 308 TCR +14.599s
Race 2 results:
1 T. Björk Lynk & Co 03 22 laps in 32:07.780
2 P. Cardoso Peugeot 308 TCR +1.281s
3 E. Guerrieri Honda Civic Type R FL5 +4.410s
4 N. Michelisz Hyundai Elantra N +10.790s
5 M. Azcona Hyundai Elantra N +11.255s
6 D. Borkovic Honda Civic Type R FL5 +12.488s
7 M. Qing Hua Lynk & Co 03 +12.797s
8 N. Girolami Hyundai Elantra N +17.125s
9 J. Filippi Audi RS 3 LMS +18.394s
10 M. Butti Honda Civis Type R FL5 +19.256s
2024 Kumho FIA TCR World Tour for Drivers
After Round 5:
1 N. Michelisz 244
2 E. Guerrieri 219
3 T. Björk 215
4 Y. Ehrlacher 201
5 M. Azcona 201
6 N. Girolami 165
7 M. Q. Hua 161
8 S. Urrutia 160
9 M. Butti 120
10 J. Filippi 110
2024 Kumho FIA TCR World Tour for Teams
After Round 5:
1 Lynk & Co Cyan Racing 517
2 BRC Hyundai N Squadra Corse 484
3 GOAT Racing 373
4 Volcano Motorsport 141
5 PMO Racing 64
6 Paladini Racing 28
7 Squarda Martino 20
8 Bryan Herta Autosport 14
9 Team Clairet Sport 14
10 PMA Motorsport 13