Photo: FIA TCR World Tour

Norbert Michelisz: “It will not be a straightforward race”

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Norbert Michelisz is bracing himself for the unexpected as he bids to defend his FIA TCR World Tour title in Sunday’s Macau showdown.

The reigning champion finished second in Saturday’s first race of the season-ending weekend, behind main challenger Thed Björk who moved to within five points of the Hungarian in the championship standings.

That has set up a mighty title climax as the World Tour concludes on Sunday with a reverse-grid race that has Michelisz starting sixth and Björk tenth.

Michelisz, who is chasing his third international touring car crown having also won the 2019 WTCR title, said it’s difficult to make up plans in advance at the notorious Macau street track and admits luck may play its part in deciding the final champion.

“It’s the last race of the season with the championship at stake, and we are in Macau,” said the Hungarian BRC Hyundai driver after Saturday’s Race 1. “The only thing I am sure about is that it will not be a straightforward race. It will not be a straightforward approach to Turn 3 (Lisboa Bend).

“So I still don’t think it’s time to think about the five points and how to do the race tomorrow, because as you saw today you can get caught up in a huge mess for no reason.

“In the end I think the biggest thing is just to stay focussed and improve the car a bit, because today I was pushing quite hard but I felt that Thed had the edge on me. My strategy will be to focus on myself, to do the best possible start and then hopefully have some luck.”

Also likely to play a role in the title fight is Michelisz’s BRC Hyundai team-mate Mikel Azcona. The Spaniard retains a slim championship hope of his own but is 26 points adrift with a maximum 30 left on offer in the final race, and admitted that he will instead be playing the team game.

Azcona had already let Michelisz by for second place in Race 1, having started on the front row but failed to overtake Björk’s Cyan Racing Lynk & Co in the opening laps.

“I had a decent start but it was not enough to fight against him (Björk) in Lisboa because he had stronger top speed than me,” said Azcona. “After the red flag, with Norby behind me we decided to think about the championship and swapped positions.

“It makes no sense for me to fight for something that is almost impossible. I think we have to be very focussed on that tomorrow and drive a smart race.”