Norbert Michelisz was surprised at BRC Racing Team’s front-row lockout for the opening FIA World Touring Car Cup (WTCR) race at the Slovakia Ring tomorrow [14th July].
The Hungarian was bested by veteran team-mate Gabriele Tarquini in the final moments in qualifying, with his best time of 2:09.664s around the 3.6 mile circuit falling short by three tenths of a second.
Speaking to TouringCars.net after the session, Michelisz admitted the team had expected less heading into the weekend, and stressed the need for them to maximise the opportunity to close the gap on YMR in both championships.
“It was better than we expected before the race weekend, because we thought this track would be a lot different compared to Vila Real and we expected to struggle,” said Michelisz.
“But in the end, finishing once again in the top three is good for me and is really good for my championship.
“I will try to do my best in the races tomorrow and I think this weekend, if everything goes as planned, the main thing is to be consistent and to finish as high as possible.
“After qualifying you can have some expectations and things can go wrong. We will try to be clever and maximise our possibilities and then we just have to wait and see.
“Of course if you are starting on the front you are a bit out of the ‘danger zone’. I’m really focused now on the start tomorrow.”
The opening race of the weekend starts at 11:00 BST tomorrow [14th July].