The Hungarian Norbert Michelisz is the new King of the WTCR after the 2019 season ended with a thrilling super-finale at the inaugural Races of Malaysia, which featured dramatic action.
Driving a BRC Hyundai N Squadra Corse-run i30 N TCR, the 35 years old Hungarian Michelisz who celebrated most on four after his title win on the back of a Race 1 victory and points finishes in races two and three, which were won by Esteban Guerrieri and Johan Kristoffersson respectively.
Guerrieri charged through from ninth to first on the opening lap of Race 2 to keep his title hopes alive by cutting Michelisz’s advantage to 10 points with one race left,
Over the opening laps, the destiny of the title swung between Guerrieri and Michelisz almost by the corner, only for the ALL-INKL.COM Münnich Motorsport Honda to lose power with a suspected blocked radiator after contact with Azcona forced a trip across the grass in the slippery conditions.
How the title battle unfolded in thrilling Race 3
From the beginning, the two title protagonists were locked in a duel as they started from the front row of the grid. Michelisz, on the DHL Pole Position, just lost out at Turn 1 as Guerrieri swept around the outside line, pulling PWR Racing’s Mikel Azcona with him into second as the evening drama played out on a wet track under floodlights.
Racing resumed on lap five as the top four put on an unforgettable spectacle. The key moment was a duel between Guerrieri and Azcona, who tapped the Argentinian. The contact forced the Honda to briefly take to the grass – then Guerrieri reported he was “losing power”. Heartbreakingly, he dropped down the order, only to set the fastest lap of the race Guerrieri’s loss meant Michelisz was safe to claim his WTCR / OSCARO world crown for Hyundai Motorsport.
“First of all, I would honestly like to congratulate Esteban because his performances in Race 2 and Race 3 today were unbelievably strong,” said BRC Hyundai N Squadra Corse driver Michelisz. “It was a very tough fight, we were going flat out. He had some technical issues and so did I. Before Race 3 it looked like I wouldn’t even start the race. But in the end with the car working at 90 per cent I managed to do the start – and in the end it’s unbelievable. It’s just a huge relief after a long season. We didn’t start off very good, but the second part of the season made up for that. Taking the championship is something I’ve been hoping for a couple of years now.”
Before the weekend’s finale, Michelisz had previously registered first place victories at four consecutive events. The first came at Nurburgring, Germany, in June, which was then backed by a further success at Vila Real, Portugal, in July, after taking pole position.
The break between events did not hinder the progress as he claimed another top spot on the podium in Ningbo, China, before claiming another first place in one of the three races held at Suzuka, Japan.
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