Hyundai’s Norbert Michelisz opened his account for the 2019 FIA World Touring Car Cup after claiming a first victory of the campaign in the opening race at the Nürburgring Nordschleife.
The Hungarian leapfrogged championship leader Esteban Guerrieri off the line in the Hyundai i30 N TCR, and from thereafter went unchallenged at the front of the field, taking the chequered flag 1.8 seconds clear.
The result also moves Michelisz into second overall, 28 points adrift of Guerrieri, who took second after having no answer to the BRC Racing driver.
The second Münnich Motorsport Honda of Néstor Girolami rounded out the podium, though easily had the most dramatic race amongst the top three.
The Argentine lost out to the Comtoyou Audi of Frédéric Vervisch on the opening tour, and in fighting back on the Döttinger Höhe straight at the end of lap two, the pair lost out to the Sébastien Loeb Racing Volkswagen of Rob Huff.
Girolami was able to maintain fourth amongst the drama, and repeated Huff’s manoeuvre on the final lap along Döttinger Hohe, with the duo making light contact along the high-speed, flat-out straight several times.
Girolami held on to secure the final podium place with late-braking into Tiergarten, as Huff had to settle for fourth after the high-speed side-by-side action.
Vervisch was fifth, only just holding on against an attack from the Lynk & Co of Yann Ehrlacher in sixth, as the rest of the top ten were separated by less than three seconds.
SLR’s Benjamin Leuchter brought his Volkswagen home in seventh, ahead of the Hyundai of Augusto Farfus in eighth, BRC Racing team-mate Nicky Catsburg in ninth and SLR’s Johan Kristoffersson completing the top ten.
Of the race finishers, Thed Björk dropped the most places, finishing 11th in his Lynk & Co after a poor start, meaning he drops to third in the drivers’ standings, 30 points adrift of Guerrieri.
Gabriele Tarquini had been set for his best-ever Nordschleife result to-date, the reigning champion going from tenth to fifth on the first lap, but he had to retire on the last lap due to mechanical issues with his Hyundai.
Also retiring was Lynk & Co’s Yvan Muller, who was hit by Huff on the first lap, and WRT’s Gordon Shedden, who crashed into PWR Racing’s Daniel Haglöf on the first lap and took the CUPRA driver out of the race.
Races two and three get underway at 10:00 and 11:20 BST (11:00 and 12:20 CEST) on Saturday respectively.
Race result
| POS | NO | DRIVER | NAT | ENTRANT | CAR | LAPS | TIME | BEST | GD |
| 1 | 5 | Norbert MICHELISZ |  |
BRC Hyundai N Squadra Corse | Hyundai i30 N TCR | 3 | 27:16.025 | 9:05.167 | 2 |
| 2 | 86 | Esteban GUERRIERI |  |
ALL-INKL.COM Münnich Motorsport | Honda Civic Type R TCR | 3 | 1.762 | 9:05.584 | 1 |
| 3 | 29 | Néstor GIROLAMI | |
ALL-INKL.COM Münnich Motorsport | Honda Civic Type R TCR | 3 | 3.741 | 9:04.932 | 3 |
| 4 | 12 | Rob HUFF |  |
SLR VW Motorsport | Volkswagen Golf GTi TCR | 3 | 4.041 | 9:05.734 | 8 |
| 5 | 22 | Frédéric VERVISCH |  |
Comtoyou Team Audi Sport | Audi RS3 LMS TCR | 3 | 7.036 | 9:07.984 | 4 |
| 6 | 68 | Yann EHRLACHER |  |
Cyan Performance Lynk & Co | Lynk & Co 03 TCR | 3 | 7.239 | 9:06.569 | 7 |
| 7 | 33 | Benjamin LEUCHTER |  |
SLR Volkswagen | Volkswagen Golf GTi TCR | 3 | 7.354 | 9:06.653 | 9 |
| 8 | 8 | Augusto FARFUS |  |
BRC Hyundai N LUKOIL Racing Team | Hyundai i30 N TCR | 3 | 7.514 | 9:06.132 | 15 |
| 9 | 88 | Nicky CATSBURG |  |
BRC Hyundai N LUKOIL Racing Team | Hyundai i30 N TCR | 3 | 7.816 | 9:06.599 | 12 |
| 10 | 14 | Johan KRISTOFFERSSON |  |
SLR Volkswagen | Volkswagen Golf GTi TCR | 3 | 8.656 | 9:07.120 | 11 |
| 11 | 11 | Thed BJÖRK | |
Cyan Racing Lynk & Co | Lynk & Co 03 TCR | 3 | 8.975 | 9:06.846 | 5 |
| 12 | 69 | Jean-Karl VERNAY | |
Leopard Racing Team Audi Sport | Audi RS3 LMS TCR | 3 | 9.480 | 9:06.796 | 16 |
| 13 | 50 | Tom CORONEL | |
Comtoyou DHL Team CUPRA Racing | CUPRA TCR | 3 | 13.529 | 9:05.651 | 18 |
| 14 | 10 | Niels LANGEVELD | |
Comtoyou Team Audi Sport | Audi RS3 LMS TCR | 3 | 14.248 | 9:06.345 | 26 |
| 15 | 25 | Mehdi BENNANI |  |
SLR VW Motorsport | Volkswagen Golf GTi TCR | 3 | 16.823 | 9:07.975 | 14 |
| 16 | 18 | Tiago MONTEIRO |  |
KCMG | Honda Civic Type R TCR | 3 | 17.115 | 9:08.521 | 19 |
| 17 | 21 | Aurélien PANIS | |
Comtoyou DHL Team CUPRA Racing | CUPRA TCR | 3 | 17.459 | 9:07.979 | 21 |
| 18 | 96 | Mikel AZCONA |  |
PWR Racing | CUPRA TCR | 3 | 17.625 | 9:06.098 | 27 |
| 19 | 31 | Kevin CECCON |  |
Team Mulsanne | Alfa Romeo Giulietta TCR | 3 | 18.125 | 9:06.922 | 22 |
| 20 | 9 | Attila TASSI | |
KCMG | Honda Civic Type R TCR | 3 | 19.083 | 9:07.927 | 24 |
| 21 | 55 | Ma QING HUA |  |
Team Mulsanne | Alfa Romeo Giulietta TCR | 3 | 19.323 | 9:06.018 | 25 |
| 22 | 111 | Andy PRIAULX | |
Cyan Performance Lynk & Co | Lynk & Co 03 TCR | 3 | 31.020 | 9:12.372 | 23 |
| R | 13 | Antti BURI |  |
AS Motorsport | Audi RS3 LMS TCR | 3 | DNF | 9:11.707 | 13 |
| R | 1 | Gabriele TARQUINI | |
BRC Hyundai N Squadra Corse | Hyundai i30 N TCR | 2 | DNF | N/A | 10 |
| R | 37 | Daniel HAGLÖF | |
PWR Racing | CUPRA TCR | 1 | DNF | N/A | 17 |
| R | 52 | Gordon SHEDDEN | |
Leopard Racing Team Audi Sport | Audi RS3 LMS TCR | 1 | DNF | N/A | 20 |
| R | 100 | Yvan MULLER | |
Cyan Racing Lynk & Co | Lynk & Co 03 TCR | 0 | DNF | N/A | 6 |