BRC Racing Team finish 2022 WTCR season with two podiums
After its triumphant performance to wrap up the two title battles early in qualifying on Saturday, BRC Hyundai N Squadra Corse finished their 2022 WTCR campaign with two podiums from Norbert and Mikel respectively.
Intense battles
Race 1 saw plenty of on-track action where all three of the Elantra N TCR drivers were attacking and defending from other cars. After a clean start, Norbert was sitting in second position where he had his eyes on the top step of the podium. He stayed hot on the heels of the car ahead for the entirety of the race, but came away with second, his third podium of the season.
“I really did my best in Race 1,” explained Norbert. “I think it was the maximum for me to finish P2, but I am happy with the points and with another podium this season.”
The newly crowned King of WTCR, Mikel, dropped three positions in the opening lap, but engaged in an entertaining duel for fifth place. There were little to no opportunities to overtake on the circuit, so the Spaniard crossed the line in sixth.
“We were missing the top speed in Race 1,” said Mikel. “But in the end our pace was very good, there is just no chance to overtake here in Jeddah.”
Nicky started Race 1 in seventh, where he spent the majority of the race. He was able to keep his cool while defending from cars behind all race and crossed the line where he started.
“It was a difficult race,” Nicky said. “I was under pressure for the whole 30 minutes so it was tough.”
One last race
Race 2 marked the final WTCR – FIA World Touring Car Cup race in its current format, and the podium trips continued for our customer team.
Mikel made up five positions during the length of the race and finished in third, sealing his title winning season with another trophy. Norbert, who started ninth on the grid, also made up five positions to finish fourth. Both Mikel and Norbert were unable to make up any further places in the race after it finished under safety car conditions.
“It’s a very good way to finish the season like this in a podium position,” smiled Mikel. “We were lucky that there were some incidents in front of us, so that helped us gain some positions.”
“Race 2 was tricky at the beginning, my start was good, and I managed to overtake one or two cars,” said Norbert. “It’s a shame to have finished under the safety car as I think we had good pace.”
Nicky however had a less fortunate race. After battling for second place early in the race, he was wiped out by the car behind. He was able to bring the car into the pits but had to retire.
“Race 2 should have been my race,” said a deflated Nicky. “I could have gone for the win or even a podium, but unfortunately I got t-boned out of the race.”
2022 FIA World Touring Car Cup for Teams
After Round 9
1. BRC Hyundai N Squadra Corse 559
2. ALL-INKL.COM Muennich Motorsport 403
3. COMTOYOU DHL TEAM AUDI SPORT 355
4. COMTOYOU TEAM AUDI SPORT 338
5. ZENGÖ MOTORSPORT 284
6. Cyan Performance Lynk & Co 211
7. Cyan Racing Lynk & Co 211
8. Liqui Moly Team Engstler 153
2022 FIA World Touring Car Cup for Drivers
After Round 9
1. Mikel Azcona 337
2. Nestor Girolami 254
3. Nathanael Berthon 240
4. Norbert Michelisz 222
5. Gilles Magnus 210
6. Robert Huff 210
7. Esteban Guerrieri 149
8. Santiago Urrutia 137
9. Yann Ehrlacher 133
10. Tom Coronel 115
11. Mehdi Bennani 112
12. Qinghua Ma 97
13. Attila Tassi 83
14. Yvan Muller 78
15. Tiago Monteiro 70
16. Daniel Nagy 62
17. Thed Björk 35
18. Franco Girolami 16
19. Bence Boldizs 12
