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WTCR heads to land of the rising sun for Suzuka East showdown

The FIA World Touring Car Cup resumes for its eighth event of the year this weekend, taking on the Suzuka East course in Japan, with Hyundai’s Norbert Michelisz heading to a venue he has previously won at on top of the standings.

After a six-week break, the WTCR resumes at Suzuka, returning to the same venue as last year, albeit on a different configuration.

Michelisz sits on top – but 1,350 points still on offer

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Michelisz scored his third win of the year in China last time out – also the third straight weekend that he has won a race – to move to the helm of the championship table, toppling Münnich Motorsport’s Esteban Guerrieri, who had been at the top since May.

Guerrieri himself had his worst weekend of the season in Ningbo, only finishing race one as he then retired from races two and three to drop to 16 points adrift of his BRC Racing rival.

However, Guerrieri and his Honda brand mates will be keen to pick themselves up and impress on the marque’s home soil this weekend at the Honda-owned Suzuka circuit – with the Argentine expecting the shorter circuit to suit the Civic Type-R.

“It’s a shame we’re not on the full circuit, but I think the twisty nature of East Course should suit the Civic Type R TCR very well and I’m confident we can fight for wins this weekend,” said Guerrieri.

“Suzuka is Honda’s home circuit and is a place I love to go to. When I was a child, I saw my hero, Ayrton Senna, win his first World Championship here on TV with that amazing recovery drive in the McLaren-Honda.

“If I could be a winner here for Honda, it would mean a huge amount to me personally, as well as for what it could do for our championship hopes.”

Esteban Guerrieri
Photo: Clement Luck / DPPI

Michelisz’s season took a bit longer than Guerrieri’s to get going, but the Hungarian is now BRC Racing’s main title hope in the standings, as he sits 91 points ahead of team-mate Gabriele Tarquini, even though 1,350 points are still up for grabs.

The 35-year-old has a good record in recent years in Japan, and last year he stood on the podium in race two and also claimed a top ten finish in race three.

“Suzuka is one of my favourite circuits,” said Michelisz. “I really like the layout and, having won in 2013, I look forward to racing there again. Japan is a beautiful country which adds to the excitement of the weekend.”

Both of Lynk & Co’s leading two drivers, Yvan Muller and Thed Björk, are very much in the hunt as well, with the Frenchman having 230 points after a double win in China, whilst Björk has 209 points despite missing out on the podium at the marque’s home race in September.

Björk admits that he is feeling an element of pressure ahead of the weekend, as he remains 38 points from the top of the drivers’ standings – having made only slight inroads last time out.

“The feeling is really tense ahead of Suzuka; you can tell that it’s not like before and that a lot is at stake,” said the Swede. “I think we can score strongly in Japan, but we need to be clever.”

We’ve been here before

World Touring Cars last raced on the 2.243 km East Circuit in 2013, when the WTCC visited the circuit in one of the last races of its S2000 era.

At the time, the racing was not exactly the most thrilling, as the short and flowing circuit offers only one or two genuine overtaking places.

Suzuka East Course WTCC 2013
Photo: WTCC

Of the current field, only Michelisz and Tom Coronel have won touring car races on the shorter circuit, with Coronel having stood on the top step in reverse-grid races in both 2011 and 2012.

The WTCC moved to the full Grand Prix circuit in 2014, before Suzuka was replaced by the Twin Ring Motegi for 2015. WTCR then brought top-level touring cars back to Suzuka’s full circuit last year, when the Alfa Romeo proved to be the dominant car, with Kevin Ceccon qualifying on the front row for both races, including a memorable pole and race win in race one.

Despite the lack of hard braking zones on the short circuit, Coronel believes that the venue offers a good spectacle for the fans, as he explains that the races become about not making mistakes.

“I won at the East Course in 2011 and 2013 so I have good memories,” said Coronel. “It’s a good track for the show and that’s part of what we do. The layout is a good style for the fans.

“When I won in 2013, Mehdi Bennani was leading but I overtook him in Turn 2 by approaching the attack in Turn 1 and teasing him.

“The last corner, which is uphill to the right, is also quite interesting. Unlike the other medium-speed corners, there’s a type of swing and if somebody makes a mistake you can overtake them.”

WTCR race start in Ningbo, China
Photo: Clement Luck / DPPI

Track times

Friday 25 October

Free Practice 1:                  08:30-09:15 (00:30 BST, 01:30 CEST)
Free Practice 2:                  10:15-10:45 (02:15 BST, 03:15 CEST)
First Qualifying:                  13:15-13:45 (05:15 BST, 06:15 CEST)
Second Qualifying:             15:30-16:20 (07:30 BST, 08:30 CEST)

Saturday 26 October

Race 1:                                 15:05 (07:05 BST, 08:05 CEST)

Sunday 27 October

Race 2:                                 10:00 (02:00 BST, 03:00 CEST)
Race 3:                                 11:30 (02:30 GMT, 03:30 CET) NOTE: Clock changes for European readers

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