- Norbert Michelisz has taken another podium in the opening race with 3rd place
- Gabriele Tarquini & Tiago Monteiro happy with performance on tight track
- Overtaking proves very difficult but Castrol Honda team satisfied with points & consistency
Gabriele TarquinizoomGabriele Tarquini Gabriele Tarquini, Norbert MicheliszzoomGabriele Tarquini, Norbert Michelisz
The first of today’s two races from Vila Real for the FIA World Touring Car Championship took place under the scorching Portuguese sun but, whilst intense track action may have been a little sparse as the race played out, the Honda Civic WTCCs were once again sharp from the start as Michelisz, Tarquini and Monteiro quickly reacted to the slower-starting Hugo Valente ahead.
For Tarquini a little more evasive action was needed, the Italian taking to Monteiro’s line to avoid delay and from there the race settled into its rhythm with Michelisz heading the Honda trio.
Jose-Maria Lopez would take race one honors, followed by Sebastien Loeb but for Honda it was a successful mission complete with three Civics maintaining a measured, consistent race to the points.
A technical problem befell Nestor Girolami, the Argentine returning to the pits after the first lap before going back out again in the latter stages for final checks and to gather more crucial data ahead of race two.
The second race will commence at 17:15 local time, with the drivers lining up 5th, 6th, 7th and 12th for Girolami, with a greater challenge ahead to avoid any mid-pack trouble and focus on potential podium positions.
Gabriele Tarquini (Race 1 / 4th): “The car was good. I had a bit of a moment in the start because Valente was very slow so I had to move to Tiago’s line, but after two laps I immediately realized it would be very difficult to pass Norbi. In the last 3 or 4 laps I went tried to attack a little bit to see the limits of the car, but overtaking really is very difficult, especially with the same car. Unfortunately I think with my qualifying position I missed out on the podium today. I’m not making any changes to the car for the second race, I’m happy with the balance.”
Tiago Monteiro (Race 1 / 5th): “It’s a very demanding track; fun but really hard on the car and driver. I have heard so many stories about this place but now I understand why everyone is so excited by it. The start was crucial. I got a good one but it’s very narrow so I had to avoid trouble. I quickly got into a rhythm and then started thinking about my tires, monitoring the brakes and the tough kerbs. It’s so difficult to overtake so I am happy with points. We will make some changes to the car for race two to finetune having learnt a lot from this first race.”
Norbert Michelisz (Race 1 / 3rd): “Of course I am quite happy. From the first moment I fell in love with this circuit. Not just for the layout but the atmosphere. After qualifying I knew there was a chance to get a podium finish so the key moment was of course the start. I focussed a lot, had a good start and managed to get by Valente. I saw Tiago and Gabriele also got good starts so I worked hard to focus and not make any mistakes.”
Alessandro Mariani, Managing Director JAS Motorsport: “I am very pleased to have three cars in the top 5. We had very good race pace - and if we had better grid positions we may have been higher but it’s good to see Norbi on the podium, he drove a good race. For the second race we’ll have to see what happens, but we’re ready to take opportunities and focus on strong results.”
Daisuke Horiuchi, Large Project Leader for WTCC Development at Honda R&D: “You can see our race pace is very good. We made just a small adjustment after qualifying. The three Civics showed very equal pace in the race but this first race also shows how important a good qualifying grid position is especially on this type of fast but very tight circuit. I am very pleased for Norbi to be on the podium again. Now I hope we can overtake the front row at the start of the second race and try for another podium again.”
Norbert MicheliszzoomNorbert Michelisz Norbert MicheliszzoomNorbert Michelisz
Castrol Honda Claims Podium with Tarquini as Monteiro Rues Retirement
- Tiago Monteiro suffers disastrous race two with immediate retirement in start line tangle
- Gabriele Tarquini heads Honda 3-4 with Norbert Michelisz in race defining moves
- Nestor Girolami adds to points tally with 8th place finish
Tiago MonteirozoomTiago Monteiro
The second of today’s FIA WTCC races was off to a heart-breaking start for the Castrol Honda World Touring Car Team as Monteiro’s hopes for a home podium ended in retirement off the line.
In an extremely tense moment, Monteiro made the better start as Jaap Van Lagen ahead struggled to get off the line but with nowhere to go and the grid funneling into the tight first corner, Monteiro was squeezed between the Lada team-mates as Catsburg closed the trio into an impossible three abreast formation.
It was a move that tragically ended Monteiro’s race before it had even begun as the Civic was rammed into the barrier – the result of heavy wheel-to-wheel contact.
In the sister Civic Tarquini managed to navigate around the troubled scenes ahead, running in 4th with Michelisz behind in 5th as the safety car lead the field until the sixth lap.
By the eleventh lap Tarquini would set the highlight for Honda in the race, a wily Italian keen to attack in a move that paid off well against Catsburg, sealing third position and his targeted podium finish. Seizing the chance, Michelisz followed suit but not first without some contact from Catsburg, which thankfully did little to deter the Hungarian ace’s progress.
The chaotic race came to a premature end under red flags but Tarquini’s safe return to the podium with further points for both Michelisz and Nestor Girolami was key reward for the team, in addition to Monteiro’s well being post-race.
Gabriele Tarquini (Race 2 / 3rd): “It was a shame my weekend started the wrong way because of my problem in qualifying. But my car was very good across both races, probably the best all season. I was pushing hard and was lucky on the second start because of the big crash with Tiago and Van Lagen - I was following his [Monteiro’s] line but because of that incident there was suddenly room for me to go through. I had the pace to attack Catsburg at the restart so went for third. I was really attacking – left, right, outside, inside and eventually got it.”
Norbert Michelisz (Race 2 / 4th): “It was quite eventful for me. I made a similar start to Tiago and Gabriele but then it was difficult for me to judge where to choose my line after the incident ahead and wanting to avoid getting involved. From then I knew it would be difficult for cars behind to pass so I tried to do a clever race to not overstress my front tires too much. I had an ‘on edge’ moment with Nicky when trying to overtake. I was very close to the wall on the inside and I think at one point we were three cars side by side but I just felt I had the inside line. I did feel a hit on my right rear but fortunately I held the car and from there I just knew that I had to be clever and not make any mistakes.”
Tiago Monteiro (Race 2 / DNF): “I’m ok, bit of a headache and my foot got stuck between the pedals but otherwise I am fine. I got a very good start, perhaps that was the problem, but I went for the gap between the two Ladas because they were slower off the line. Unfortunately they then started to move across in the same direction but it’s one of those things - it’s a street track with not much room. I was too deep in to back off but I thought maybe it would just be a little touch; unfortunately it was harder than that and we had wheel-to-wheel contact which broke my right wheel and that was it.”
Alessandro Mariani, Managing Director JAS Motorsport: “I’m happy for Gabriele but of course sad for Tiago. Again we showed the great race pace that we have had throughout. It’s been a difficult weekend on a difficult track but good performances from the team.”
Daisuke Horiuchi, Large Project Leader for WTCC Development at Honda R&D: “Very sorry for Tiago but that is racing unfortunately. The cars were in excellent condition at the start and I was hopeful of a three-car result. Tiago got his usual fast start whilst Van Lagen was slow so he had to go left and go for the gap. Nestor showed very good pace in the second race and has again scored points.”
WTCC World Touring Car Championship
Round 08: Portugal
Race 1
Rank
Driver (Machine)
1 Jose LOPEZ (Citroen C-Elysee WTCC)
2 Sebastien LOEB (Citroen C-Elysee WTCC)
3 Norbert MICHELISZ (Honda Civic WTCC)
4 Gabriele TARQUINI (Honda Civic WTCC)
5 Tiago MONTEIRO (Honda Civic WTCC)
6 MA Qing Hua (Citroen C-Elysee WTCC)
17 Nestor GIROLAMI (Honda Civic WTCC)
Race 2
Rank
Driver (Machine)
1 MA Qing Hua (Citroen C-Elysee WTCC)
2 Yvan MULLER (Citroen C-Elysee WTCC)
3 Gabriele TARQUINI (Honda Civic WTCC)
4 Norbert MICHELISZ (Honda Civic WTCC)
5 Jose LOPEZ (Citroen C-Elysee WTCC)
6 Nicky Catsburg (LADA Vesta WTCC)
8 Nestor GIROLAMI (Honda Civic WTCC)
18 Tiago MONTEIRO (Honda Civic WTCC)