Hyundai: After WRC also WTCR title
CHAMPION FROM HUNGARY At the finale in Malaysia, Norbert Michelisz secured the drivers' title in the World Touring Car Cup for himself and Hyundai. After winning the World Rally Championship, another success for the brand from Korea. The highlights from Malaysia from the perspective of Hyundai Motorsport and its drivers. In the WTCR (World Touring Car Racing), customer teams with a more [...]
The highlights from Malaysia from the perspective of Hyundai Motorsport and its drivers.
In the WTCR (World Touring Car Racing), customer teams with more or less factory support are in action. Audi, Cupra, Honda, Hyundai, Lynk & Co (Geely), Volkswagen and Alfa-Romeo are represented in this official FIA World Cup for touring cars with cars based on TCR regulations.
Several leadership changes
For the second year in a row, a Hyundai driver took the touring car crown. Last year's champion Gabriele Tarquini from Italy is followed by Norbert Michelisz from Hungary in the Hyundai i30 N TCR from BRC Hyundai N Squadra Corse.
It was only after the seventh of ten events, each with three sprint races, that Michelisz was at the top of the standings for the first time. He was then replaced by the Argentinean Esteban Guerreri on a Honda Civic, who had a 45-point lead at one point in the middle of the season. This was of no use to him in the end.
Decision in the last race in darkness
After the three penultimate races in November at the notorious Guia Circuit in Macau, the Hyundai spearhead in the championship was again in front and remained so after the season finale in mid-December at the Sepang Circuit in Malaysia. There, for the first time, all three rounds were held on one race day, the penultimate and the final race under floodlights in the rain.
In the meantime, Michelisz had to fear, but after a contact with Mikel Azcona (Cupra), his title rival Guerrieri dropped back in the field. Fifth place was enough for the Eastern European to become the new touring car king.
Norbert Michelisz: "That was the longest day of my life. It was so close until the end."
Most successful driver in all areas
His success is no coincidence. With five wins, three second and two third places from 30 races and four pole positions, Michelisz tops the list. In total, he scored 370 points, Esteban Guerrieri in the Honda Civic 349 and Yvan Muller (Lynk & Co) 329. In contrast to 2018 and 2019, no driver from Switzerland was at the start of a WTCR race.
In the team classification, Cyan Racing won with its Lynk & Co 03 TCR (624 points) ahead of BRC Hyundai N Squadra Corse (602) and All-Inkl.com Münnich Motorsport (Honda, 572).
World Cup at the crossroads
Did the floodlights in Sepang also slowly turn out the lights for the series? In the coming season, the third with FIA WTCR predicate, the cards will be reshuffled in the World Touring Car Cup. Volkswagen has already announced that it will end its involvement in this series. Thus, the Golf 8 will not be available as a touring car. Audi Customer Racing is also cutting back on factory support for its customer teams.
WTCR promoter François Ribeiro: "The aim must be to maintain the quality of the field. It was exceptional this season. I'll be working hard on this until the registration deadline for 2020."
ETCR in the starting blocks
Ribeiro is also hoping for new manufacturers and would like to see female racers in the series. However, he also assumes that fans of combustion engine racing will have to say goodbye to one or two manufacturers in the coming years. The all-electric ETCR racing series is in the starting blocks.
François Ribeiro: "You have to take a completely different approach. Simply transferring the combustion engine motorsport concept to electric motorsport won't work."
(ampnet/blb/PW)
