Things get heavy as WTCC circus heads to Hungary

This weekend, the third round of the World Touring Car Championship gets underway at the Hungaroring near Budapest, with a strong home crowd expected to cheer on home hero Norbert Michelisz, but Honda could struggle to repeat their early season form now carrying the maximum compensation weight.

After two races, the compensation weight system kicks in, designed to prevent any one manufacturer running away with the results completely. Although both Honda and Volvo have shown equal speed in the first two events, as a result, both have ended up carrying the maximum penalty to the WTCC’s toughest permanent circuit at which to overtake, which could play towards the privateer Citroëns.

The privateer Citroëns had a good race in Hungary last year, with Mehdi Bennani and Tom Chilton completing a 1-2 for Sébastien Loeb Racing in the opening race, though that was in part due to a tactical blunder by both the factory Honda and Citroën teams, opting for slicks or mixed slick and wet tyres for what turned out to be a fully wet first race.

It’s the seventh visit to Hungary for the WTCC, with a record crowd of 75,000 turning up to the first event in 2011 before it was decided maybe it was worth charging for entry. Still, the “Norbi army” will still be in full force in Hungary, cheering on their hero, with Michelisz a candidate for title glory this season.

“It’s my home event and one of the races I look forward to the most every year,” said Michelisz. “I truly believe I have the best fans in the WTCC and thousands of them come from all over Hungary to support me when I race at the Hungaroring, so it would mean such a huge amount if I could give them a win and close in on the lead of the championship.”

Michelisz’s chief rival comes from within the team, with Tiago Monteiro leading the standings by 15 points over Volvo’s Thed Björk heading into the weekend.

“After we performed so well at Monza – a circuit where we really didn’t believe it would be possible to get two podiums – it feels like anything is achievable,” he said. “Of course, having 80kg of compensation weight won’t help us in our fight to win this weekend, but as long as we keep taking points wherever we can and maximise the possibilities for podiums and wins at every circuit, we will continue to look strong in our fight for the title.”

Polestar Cyan Racing Volvo driver Nicky Catsburg is viewing the allocation of 80kg compensation weight for the Volvo S60’s speed as a compliment, rather than a handicap.

“We will be running with full weight that we hopefully will carry for the rest of the season,” he said. “That might sound unusual but it’s proof that we are the fastest of the field. I think Hungaroring will suit us…we have the car under control and we are ready for anything.”

Björk, second in the standings, expects the Hungarian circuit will work well for the S60.

“I hope to continue with the same positive feeling that I had at Monza – the car was awesome there,” said Björk. “We were strong at Hungaroring last year and I think that we can improve on our results this year.”

16 cars will again be on the grid, with race-by-race entry Kevin Gleason confirmed back at RC Motorsport in their Lada Vesta WTCC.

2017 WTCC Race of Hungary Entry List

No – Driver – Nat – Team – Car
3 – Tom Chilton – GBR – Sébastien Loeb Racing – Citroën C-Elysée WTCC
5 – Norbert Michelisz – HUN – Honda Racing Team JAS – Honda Civic WTCC
8 – Aurélien Panis – FRA – Zengő Motorsport – Honda Civic WTCC
9 – Tom Coronel – NED – ROAL Motorsport – Chevrolet RML Cruze TC1
12 – Rob Huff – GBR – Münnich Motorsport – Citroën C-Elysée WTCC
18 – Tiago Monteiro – POR – Honda Racing Team JAS – Honda Civic WTCC
24 – Kevin Gleason – USA – RC Motorsport – Lada Vesta WTCC
25 – Mehdi Bennani – MOR – Sébastien Loeb Racing – Citroën C-Elysée WTCC
27 – John Filippi – FRA – Sébastien Loeb Racing – Citroën C-Elysée WTCC
34 – Ryo Michigami – JPN – Honda Racing Team JAS – Honda Civic WTCC
61 – Néstor Girolami – ARG – Polestar Cyan Racing – Volvo S60 TC1
62 – Thed Björk – SWE – Polestar Cyan Racing – Volvo S60 TC1
63 – Nicky Catsburg – NED – Polestar Cyan Racing – Volvo S60 TC1
68 – Yann Ehrlacher – FRA – RC Motorsport – Lada Vesta WTCC
86 – Esteban Guerrieri – ARG – Campos Racing – Chevrolet RML Cruze TC1
99 – Daniel Nagy – HUN – Zengő Motorsport – Honda Civic WTCC

2017 WTCC Race of Hungary Timetable

Saturday 13th May
09:00 – Free Practice 1
11:30 – Free Practice 2
14:00 – Qualifying
15:00 – MAC3

Sunday 14th May
12:35 – Race 1 (12 laps)
13:45 – Race 2 (15 laps)

2017 WTCC Race of Hungary Compensation Weight

Car – Weight – Ballast
Honda Civic WTCC – 1,180kg – +80kg
Volvo S60 TC1 – 1,180kg – +80kg
Citroën C-Elysée WTCC – 1,150kg – +50kg
Chevrolet RML Cruze TC1 – 1,100kg – +0kg
Lada Vesta WTCC – 1,100kg – +0kg