Norbert Michelisz: Slipstreaming was the key to Monza pole

Norbert Michelisz says that working with his BRC Racing team-mates on slipstreaming in qualifying for the FIA TCR World Tour at Monza was the key to him securing pole position.

Michelisz was given a slipstream by team-mate Mikel Azcona on his first flying lap in Q2, before repaying the favour to Azcona on the pair’s second runs.

However, Michelisz was able to put in the quicker on the two laps, 0.165 seconds ahead of Azcona, to claim his first pole position since the Vallelunga round in April 2024.

“We did a perfect job today,” said Michelisz. “The car balance was great; I was confident to push, but the key to be on pole and the first row was the slipstreaming.

“You always struggle to find the right distance, but I was lucky enough just to have the right distance from Mikel on my first run in Q2.

“We agreed this strategy, and at this point in the championship we are behind, so we need to maximise every possibility from a team perspective.

“We’re in a position where we need to collect as many points as possible.”

Michelisz is currently ninth in the drivers’ championship standings and is unballasted this weekend, whilst team-mate Néstor Girolami has additional weight to carry and qualified in tenth, giving him reverse-grid pole position for race two.

“Weight will have a bigger effect than Valencia, but the slipstream gives you half a second, so without the slipstream you will not see these gaps like we saw in qualifying.

“OK, we’ll have clean air out front which will help the tyres, but there won’t be two cars and then a gap like we saw in qualifying, it’ll be packed, so I think it’ll be a fun race.”