Michelisz encores at night, but Guerrieri qualifies second
In a Malaysian night, Norbert Michelisz confirmed he’s the man to beat in the WTCR season’s finale at Sepang, as he claimed his second pole position of the day for Race 3. However, Esteban Guerrieri, his main contender in the title fight, qualified in second position.
The Hungarian drove a perfect lap in Q3 and stopped the clock at 2:13.141, beating Guerrieri by nearly eight tenths, while Mikel Azcona was a brilliant third one further tenth adrift. Nicky Catsburg and Gabriele Tarquini made mistakes in the third sector and couldn’t finish better that fourth and fifth.
Ma Qing Hua qualified tenth and won the pole for Race 2; he will share the front row of the reversed grid with Néstor Girolami.
In the championship standings, Michelisz has built a 15-point lead over Guerrieri, while Muller and Björk dropped 21 and 40 points behind in what was in a catastrophic session for Lynk&Co.
Catsburg set the pace in Q1 with a lap of 2:13.342 that was faster than Michelisz’s 2:13.366 by 24 thousandths. Azcona (2:13.638), Guerrieri (2:13.756), Niels Langeveld (2:13.856) and Girolami (2:13.869) were all able to go under the 2:14 mark. Tarquini, Augusto Farfus, Frédéric Vervisch, Kevin Ceccon, Attila Tassi and Ma completed the top-twelve for Q2, while Muller dropped to 13th, the first of those who didn’t make the cut.
In Q2, Michelisz benefitted from Tarquini’s aspiration to set a new lap record of 2:13.054 than nobody was able to beat; Catsburg (2:13.235) and Tarquini (2:13.508) were second and third fastest, while Azcona (2:13.574) and Guerrieri (2:13.644) advanced to Q3 as well.
The three races will take place on Sunday, with Race 1 starting at 15:15 local time (08:15 CET).
Qualifying 2
1. 2:13.141 – Norbert Michelisz (BRC Squadra Corse, Hyundai i30 N)
2. 2:13.925 – Esteban Guerrieri (Münnich Motorsport, Honda Civic FK7)
3. 2:14.020 – Mikel Azcona (PWR Racing, CUPRA)
4. 2:14.586 – Nicky Catsburg (BRC Racing, Hyundai i30 N)
5. 2:14.981 – Gabriele Tarquini (BRC Squadra Corse, Hyundai i30 N)
Championship points
1. Michelisz 326 pts; 2. Guerrieri 311; 3. Muller 305
