Star InactiveStar InactiveStar InactiveStar InactiveStar Inactive

Norbert Michelisz will start the Main Race at FIA WTCC Race of Japan from the pole position after he set the pace in qualifying at Honda’s home track, Twin Ring Motegi. It was the Hungarian’s eighth pole in the World Touring Car Championship and number 10 for the Japanese manufacturer.

And the success continued for Honda with home hero Ryo Michigami making history with the best qualifying effort by a Japanese driver in the WTCC. By going fifth quickest in the rain-hit session, he beat the previous record of ninth.

Nicky Catsburg was the fastest of the Polestar Cyan Racing trio but a late burst from Néstor Girolami in Qualifying Q2 inadvertently denied team-mate and championship leader Thed Björk a place in the top-five Qualifying Q3 shootout. Meanwhile, Mehdi Bennani hit back from a frustrating WTCC Race of China by setting the pace in the WTCC Trophy for independent racers.

Despite his achievement, Michelisz wasn’t entirely happy with his lap. “I made two stupid mistakes on my lap because I was trying too hard,” he said. “I needed the perfect lap. But the car was amazing and it was still good enough for the front row. I’m really happy for the team and I’d like to congratulate my team-mates too.”

Qualifying recap: Nicky Catsburg set the pace in Q1 with a fastest time of 2m09.522s ahead of the Hondas of Norbert Michelisz and Ryo Michigami. At the other end of the field, two big names failed to break into the top 12 and would not progress into Q2. ROAL Motorsport’s Tom Coronel and ALL-INKL.COM Münnich Motorsport’s Rob Huff were surprise exits of the first session and joined Campos Racing debutant Kris Richard – the European Touring Car Cup prize winner on this WTCC debut – Zsolt Dávid Szabó of Zengő Motorsport and RC Motorsport’s Filipe de Souza on the sidelines.

In Q2 Catsburg continued to set the pace, with Michelisz and Michigami finding themselves in his wake once again. The Volvo driver’s best time of 2m08.411s was an impressive half a second quicker than Michelisz’s lap. Further back, there was drama in the shuffling of positions to decide who will start the reverse-grid Opening Race from the top spot. Dániel Nagy was P10 in the closing stages and looked set to take the honour, only for RC’s Kevin Gleason to knock him back to P11. That meant the American claimed his first WTCC reverse-grid pole.

Néstor Girolami, who lost considerable track time in Free Practice 2 with a spin into the gravel, was fifth fastest in Q2 for Polestar Cyan Racing, which gave him the honour of running first in the Q3 shoot-out but the Argentine’s charge demoted Thed Björk and prevented the Swede from challenging for pole in the final phase of qualifying and therefore no points for the championship leader. Girolami remained fastest after Honda’s Esteban Guerrieri, standing in for Tiago Monteiro, and Michigami failed to beat his time. But Michelisz blitzed his benchmark on his run, a time of 2m08.890s – as recorded by TAG Heuer, the WTCC’s Official Timing Partner – proving 0.9s faster.

Volvo Polestar’s hopes for pole position still rested on Catsburg, but the Dutchman made a mistake in sector two and could only set a time good enough for second on the grid for the Main Race.

The on-track action continues later today with the 11-lap Opening Race due to get underway at 14h15 local time followed by the Main Race, which is scheduled for 13 laps, beginning at 15h30.

Star InactiveStar InactiveStar InactiveStar InactiveStar Inactive

Polestar Cyan Racing’s team of three Volvo S60s defeated the trio of Honda Civic WTCCs in the WTCC MAC3 time trial at FIA WTCC Race of China at the all-new Ningbo International Speedpark this afternoon.

The all-blue Volvo Polestars, led by DHL Pole Position Award winner Néstor Girolami, set the two-lap benchmark by running first in murky conditions at the 4.015-kilometre track. The Hondas had a time of 4m05.191s to beat.

WTCC returnee Gabriele Tarquini led Norbert Michelisz and Ryo Michigami – until he repeated his error from qualifying and ran off the increasingly slippery circuit. The experienced Italian rejoined the trio, but was now at the back of the train.

His error left the team more than four seconds off the Volvos at the end of the first lap, a gap they were unable to make up on the second tour. They finished 4.7s down on the Polestar Cyan Racing S60s. “It well really well,” said Volvo driver Nicky Catsburg. “We’re super-happy to get the points.”

Alexander Murdzevski Schedvin, Head of Motorsport at Polestar, said: “We have claimed a double with pole and WTCC MAC3 victory previously, but this is no doubt the best one as we won it in wet conditions that have proven to be hard for us in the past."

"Néstor was finally able to show what he really can deliver and we are all very happy for him. Things look very strong for tomorrow."

The result and 12 accompanying points means Volvo Polestar now lies just two points behind Honda in the FIA World Touring Car Championship for Manufacturers, 588 leading 586. It was Volvo Polestar's sixth WTCC MAC3 triumph of 2017.

Star InactiveStar InactiveStar InactiveStar InactiveStar Inactive

Talented Swiss driver Kris Richard will make his FIA World Touring Car Championship debut at FIA WTCC Race of Japan this weekend, his prize from Eurosport Events for winning the FIA European Touring Car Cup in 2016.

Richard claimed the ETCC Super 2000 crown in a final-round decider at Imola last season at the wheel of a Rikli Motorsport Honda Civic. He had been offered his prize drive at WTCC OSCARO Race of Italy in April of this year, only for a clashing commitment to rule out his participation.

Since then, Eurosport Events has been working to secure an alternative opportunity for the 22-year-old and has agreed terms for Richard to drive the Campos Racing Chevrolet RML Cruze TC1 normally campaigned by Esteban Guerrieri. An announcement regarding Guerrieri’s plans for the Twin Ring Motegi event will be announced shortly.

François Ribeiro, Head of Eurosport Events, the WTCC promoter, said: “We are delighted to welcome another young talented driver to the WTCC in Kris Richard and we are also pleased his long overdue prize drive for winning the ETCC title in 2016 has come to fruition after a clash of events meant this had not been possible until now.”

Kris Richard, who has been racing successfully in TCR Germany this season, said: “I don’t know the car, the team, the track, the WTCC or anything but these are plus points for me because I have no pressure. I just go there to do the best I can out of the situation, completely free in the mind. I am really excited and really looking forward.”

Star InactiveStar InactiveStar InactiveStar InactiveStar Inactive

Néstor Girolami finally got the break his obvious talent has craved when he claimed his first DHL Pole Position Award in the FIA World Touring Car Championship at the all-new Ningbo International Speedpark in China today.

Mastering challenging track conditions following persistent rainfall on the 4.015-kilometre layout, the Polestar Cyan Racing Volvo driver edged out the Castrol Honda World Touring Car Team Civic of Norbert Michelisz in the top five shoot-out to snatch the lead spot for the Main Race on Sunday.

In doing so, ‘Bebu’ Girolami – who has endured a luckless season in touring car racing’s highest echelon – becomes driver number 26 to land pole position in the WTCC, the sixth different pole-sitter of 2017 and the first Argentine since José María López to qualify at the head of the pack, a feat his compatriot achieved in China last September.

And in a day of celebration for Volvo Polestar, which is owned by Chinese company Geely Automobile, Girolami joined forces with team-mates Thed Björk and Nicky Catsburg to win the WTCC MAC3 team time trial for the sixth time this season.

“Wow, finally,” said a delighted Girolami. “The team did a fantastic job. Two days ago we were testing to sort my problem, the famous vibration that has finally gone. I’m so happy, it’s nice for my confidence. I am here to fight, to help my team-mates and fight for Volvo for the championship.”

Elsewhere, title chasers Norbert Michelisz and Thed Björk were second and third quickest in Qualifying Q3, Michelisz’s effort marking his fourth consecutive front-row start, Rob Huff was the fastest of the WTCC Trophy contingent in fourth while Yann Ehrlacher, the nephew of four-time world champion Yvan Muller, will start the Opening Race on the reverse-grid pole position after the young Frenchman was the all-important P10 in Qualifying Q2. Despite his achievement, Ehrlacher reckoned he could have gone faster.

“We had the pace to be better,” said Ehrlacher, who scored his breakthrough WTCC victory in Argentina prior to the summer break. “I would prefer to be P6 or P7 and fighting for a better position, but it will be a good opportunity to get a result in the Opening Race.”

Ehrlacher will be joined on the front row by OSCARO-backed John Filippi, who was ninth fastest in the session in his Sébastien Loeb Racing Citroën C-Elysée WTCC.

Tom Chilton was sixth quickest followed by Esteban Guerrieri and Nicky Catsburg. Ryo Michigami was P11 with American driver Kevin Gleason making it through to Qualifying Q2 for the first time in P12. Michigami’s ultimate pace was thwarted by a mechanical problem that caused a throttle response issue.

Mehdi Bennani, a former WTCC Race of China winner, failed to progress beyond Qualifying Q1 following a tough session. Tom Coronel, Dániel Nagy and WTCC returnee Filipe de Souza were next up with Zsolt Dávid Szabó, on his second WTCC weekend, unable to set a time due to mechanical gremlins.

From “totally lost” to P5, WTCC super-sub Tarquini shines

Gabriele Tarquini, the 2009 World Touring Car champion and a winner of 22 races, impressed on his WTCC return as stand-in for the recovering world title leader Tiago Monteiro.

Absent from the championship for almost a year, Tarquini reacclimatised well to make it through to Qualifying Q3 – after setting the pace in Q2 – where he went fifth quickest following a time-zapping slide in his factory Honda Civic. “After the first 10 laps this morning when I was totally lost I tried to remember how to drive a TC1 car,” the Italian explained.

“Going fastest in Q2 was fantastic, but it turned out to be a bad thing because it meant I was last to go in Q3 and it started to rain heavily just as I started my lap. I made a mistake at Turn 1 and pushed too hard trying to recover, so ended up in fifth. This is still a very good result and I’m in a strong position to be able to help the team and Norbi [Michelisz] tomorrow and do the best job I can for Tiago.”

 

         

 

 

Search