Podium finish for BRC Racing Team in Hungary at Kumho TCR World Tour
BRC Racing Team driver Mikel Azcona secured a third-place finish in Race 1 of the Kumho TCR World Tour at Hungaroring
Departing Hungary, Norbert Michelisz drops to second in the Kumho TCR World Tour for Drivers’ standings, with Azcona moving up to third
BRC Hyundai N Squadra Corse remains second in the Kumho TCR World Tour for Teams as the series heads into summer break
June 19, 2023 – BRC Hyundai N Squadra Corse claimed another podium finish at Hungaroring during the fourth round of the Kumho TCR World Tour season this weekend (June 16th-18th), where Mikel Azcona finished third in Race 1.
The final European stop on the calendar saw the TCR World Tour grid reunite with TCR Europe at the home of Norbert Michelisz, the leader of the Drivers’ standings going into the weekend.
Azcona qualified fourth for Race 1 and made a good start placing himself firmly in the rear-view mirror of his competitors. At the end of the second lap, the Spaniard took his chance to claim a podium position by placing his Hyundai Elantra N TCR on the outside line at the final corner around two cars. He made the move stick past the first car, slotted into third place where he was able to retain the position, and build a gap from the car behind. He crossed the finish line in third and took his third podium of the season.
Team-mate Norbert Michelisz started the race just behind in fifth. A slow getaway meant he had dropped to seventh by the end of the first lap but later capitalised when a competitor went off the track to gain a position back. The Hungarian then went on the defence to halt the car behind’s attack. He was able to close in on fifth position but struggled on the straights because of carrying maximum compensation weight from his success in Vallelunga. He ultimately ran out of laps to make a move and had to settle for a sixth-place finish.
It was a Sunday to forget for Michelisz though, after starting sixth on the partially reversed grid Race 2 he was an innocent bystander in a lap one incident. He was sent into a spin, sustaining damage to his Hyundai Elantra N TCR. He was able to bring the car into the pits where the team worked hard to repair the damage so he could return to the track. The Hungarian was running three laps down on the leaders and crossed the line in 19th position.
As a result of the lap one incident, Azcona jumped from seventh to fourth before the safety car was deployed. At the restart on lap five, the Spaniard pushed on to make up further positions and was involved in a four-way battle for third position. He defended hard but had little chance to overtake; just missing out on another podium at the chequered flag.
As a result, Michelisz loses his lead in the Drivers’ standings and drops to second, whilst Azcona moves into third. BRC Hyundai N Squadra Corse remains second in the Kumho TCR World Tour for Teams.
Team Principal of BRC Hyundai N Squadra Corse Gabriele Rizzo said: “We were expecting a tough weekend due to maximum compensation weight on both cars, and it was indeed in terms of overall result mainly for Norbi. But we have many positive points that must give us the right motivation and confidence to target the top place finishes. Both qualifying and race pace performance, with both drivers, were really strong considering it was the first time we found this range of track temperatures with these tyres, and we had limited time on dry track in this event due to a wet FP2. This element has highlighted our great work during the preseason test and for this I have to congratulate all our staff and Hyundai MotorSport Customer Racing for their support. We are in a great position to contend the final victory and we will have plenty of time to analyze European race facts and be even better prepared for the South America ones.".
Norbert Michelisz said: “The race weekend has been good overall; we always knew it was going to be tough with the compensation weight. Despite this qualifying went well, I finished fifth and Mikel fourth, so it was a very good team result. My start in Race 1 wasn’t great so I lost some positions, and from there it was difficult to progress because I didn’t have the straight-line speed. Race 2 was unfortunate; I was caught out by a car spinning in front of me and I tried to avoid it but there just wasn’t enough room. I sustained damage but the team did a great job to repair the car and I managed to finish the race. With this points system it’s very important to score points so the target in the end was to cross the line. I did my best, and we still have a long season ahead of us.”
Mikel Azcona said: “Hungary has been very positive for me as it was the maximum that we could achieve this weekend having the extra 40 kilos compensation weight. Over the weekend we have been tweaking settings in the Hyundai Elantra N TCR and we found a good configuration to manage the tyres with the extra weight. I’m delighted to be coming away with a podium finish in Race 1. Race 2 was chaotic; it was probably my best start of the season so far. I felt really competitive in that race running in fourth position. I had a couple of chances to overtake, but I did not want to take a big risk with third position as there were some good points on offer in fourth. It’s a shame what happened to Norbi, but we are both still in a good position for the standings at the halfway point.”
2023 Kumho TCR World Tour for Drivers’ Standings
After round 4
1. Yann Ehrlacher 195
2. Norbert Michelisz 179
3. Mikel Azcona 168
4. Rob Huff 161
5. Nestor Girolami 150
6. Thed Björk 145
7. Frédéric Vervisch 135
8. Santiago Urrutia 111
9. Ma Qing Hua 94
10. Tom Coronel 76
11. Kobe Pauwels 74
12. John Filippi 70
13. Kevin Ceccon 23
14. Felipe Fernandez 20
15. Marco Butti 20
2023 Kumho TCR World Tour for Teams’ Standings
After round 4
1. Cyan Racing Lynk & Co 414
2. BRC Hyundai N Squadra Corse 351
3. Audi Sport Team Comtoyou 319
4. ALM Motorsport 182
5. Comtoyou Racing 148
6. Comtoyou 91
7. Aggressive Team Italia 47
8. Volcano Motorsport 36
9. RC2 Racing Team 32
10. SP Compétition 24
10. Aggressive Team Italia 25