One-two finish puts Honda on top in WTCC

Honda lead the FIA World Touring Car Drivers’ and Manufacturers’ Championships after recording a one-two finish on a dramatic day of racing in Argentina.

Norbert Michelisz beat Castrol Honda World Touring Car Team-mate Tiago Monteiro in the Main Race at Termas de Rio Hondo to secure his second victory of the season and the seventh of his career, having started from second place.

The Hungarian driver had earlier finished outside the points in the Opening Race after accidental contact from Tiago on the first lap punctured his left-front tyre, forcing a slow trip back to the pits.

Norbert’s results moved him up to third place in the Drivers’ Championship – 29 points away from the lead – with four rounds to go.

Tiago’s second place in the Main Race was his seventh podium finish of the season. He had earlier finished fifth in the Opening Race, despite sustaining bent steering after an early hit from behind, which initiated the contact with Norbert.

The results increased Portuguese driver Monteiro’s Drivers’ Championship lead to 12 points and moved Honda to the head of the Manufacturers’ title race for the first time in 2017 with an eight-point advantage.

Ryo Michigami turned in one of his most competitive raceday performances of the season. After starting the Opening Race last due to an engine-change penalty incurred the previous day, the Japanese carved through the field to finish a point-scoring 10^th. He added a solid 11^th place in the Main Race.

The WTCC now has a large gap before the season resumes at the new Ningbo circuit in China on October 14-15.

Norbert Michelisz, Castrol Honda World Touring Car Team, said: “I’m really happy with the result today. To take my second Main Race win in a row is a very special feeling. The team have done an amazing job right from the first free practice session and I’ve had the confidence to really attack the circuit all weekend. I’m now third in the Drivers’ Championship, which is the highest I’ve been since the first round of the season and Honda are also ahead in the Manufacturers’ Championship, which shows what a good job we’ve done as a team this weekend.”

Tiago Monteiro, Castrol Honda World Touring Car Team, said: “It’s fantastic to have a one-two finish for the team and to see Ryo scoring points; we’ve performed very strongly as a team this weekend and that’s how we’ve recovered the Manufacturers’ Championship lead. I’m sorry for what happened in the Opening Race, but I was hit from behind, locked my brakes and made contact with Norbi. I also bent my steering, which I had to drive with in both races. I then had a braking issue on the lap to the Main Race grid and went through the gravel, but managed to hold it together and finish second to keep my Drivers’ Championship lead.”

Ryo Michigami, Honda Racing Team JAS, said: “It’s been a mixed weekend for me with a big problem in getting here and then some car issues yesterday, but today has been pretty good because we’ve had two finishes and my first point since Morocco in May. To come from last to 10^th in the Opening Race was good and I was hoping I could do even better in the Main Race. I made a good start, but I ran wide battling with Tom Coronel at Turn 4 and lost some positions, which I wasn’t able to recover. Despite this, the balance of the car in the Main Race was probably the best I’ve had all season.”

Alessandro Mariani, Team Principal, said: “Today has been very good for us and Norbi and Tiago have driven very well to record a one-two finish, and the way they both reacted to their little contact in the Opening Race shows their professionalism. The temperature today has been much colder than we expected, so as a team we’ve leant on a lot of the tyre and set-up data gained in winter testing to help make the cars as fast as possible today. I’m also very happy for Ryo, who has reacted from a terrible trip here and some car problems yesterday with two good drives and a points finish.”

Ryuichi Furukawa, Large Project Leader WTCC Development, Honda R&D, said: “We have achieved a very good result in the Main Race; it doesn’t get much better than a one-two finish, and we are now leading both the Drivers’ and Manufacturers’ Championships. I’m sorry for Norbi because of what happened in the Opening Race, but he’s scored 34 points over the weekend, which is a very good score. We have four rounds to go and the intention is to make sure we hold on to first position in both championships.”