Ending the year with second in the standings
Our team has secured second place in the FIA ETCR – eTouring Car World Cup manufacturers standings at the final round of the season, Race DE. There was more celebrations at the Sachsenring, with Norbert taking his first King of the Weekend podium after a strong and consistent weekend.
“It is fantastic to end the year in second overall as a team and with another King of the Weekend podium,” said our Director of Marketing and PR, Stefan. “All of our drivers demonstrated the improved pace of the Veloster N ETCR at Race DE.”
Celebrations and commiserations in Pool Furious
Norbert began the event with the second fastest lap in Qualifying. He briefly snatched the lead of Quarter Final 1, but lost out in a drag race in the closing moments and finished second. Another second place in the Semi Final secured a front row start for the Super Final; he challenged the leader on several occasions, and once again crossed the line in second place.
“It was a very solid race weekend – probably my best of the season, and it’s always nice to finish the year like this,” said an ecstatic Norbert. “I’m very happy with the podium, I think I deserved it this weekend. I didn’t make mistakes and the pace was good. I really hope this journey will continue.”
It was a difficult and disappointing weekend for his team-mate Mikel. Disqualified from Qualifying for a technical infringement, he came back fighting to win Quarter Final 2, only to be penalised and classified second. The Spaniard claimed victory in the Semi Final to secure fourth on the Super Final grid. Although he was raring to fight hard in the final race, he had no Power Up boost and fell to last. He was able to salvage fifth.
“Race DE in two words: bad luck,” summarised Mikel. “We were fighting for third in the championship, I came here on full attack and tried my best to secure it. However, even without Power Up, my car was very strong. If I had my boost, I think I could have won – I felt incredibly fast.”
Pool Fast heartbreak
Nicky was battling against understeer in Qualifying and was fifth fastest overall. A good launch in Quarter Final 2 saw him able to benefit from a mistake by the car ahead and cruise to a comfortable victory. He fought hard with Mattias Ekström in Semi Final 1, but had to settle for third. Having made a fantastic move up to second in the Super Final, he was hit by Maxime Martin, which sent him sideways and he dropped to last place.
“It has been a very cool weekend, as always in FIA ETCR, with a bit of a bitter ending,” admitted Nicky. “Overall I’m feeling very positive, in the end what happened today is what it is but I hope to be back in the future.
After struggling in Qualifying, Jean-Karl helped to secure a 1-2 finish for our team alongside Nicky in the Quarter Final. He lost ground in Semi Final 2, slipping to third, until a move in the run down to turn eight helped him fight back to second. Jean-Karl was running as high as fourth in the Semi Final, but ultimately finished fifth.
“Race DE has been like this year in general; really tough from beginning to end,” concluded Jean-Karl. “It is a shame because after Qualifying the car was really good and I enjoyed just racing here.”
King Driver Classification – Race DE
1. Tom Blomqvist 100
2. Adrien Tambay 100
3. Norbert Michelisz 77
4. Mattias Ekström 67
5. Maxime Martin 61
6. Giovanni Venturini 44
7. Luca Filippi 41
8. Mikel Azcona 40
9. Bruno Spengler 39
10. Nicky Catsburg 38
11. Jean-Karl Vernay 35
12. Jordi Gené 23
2022 FIA ETCR Manufacturers’ Standings
After round 6
1. Cupra 1076
2. Hyundai Motorsport N 746
3. Romeo Ferraris 732
2022 FIA ETCR Drivers’ Standings
After round 6
1. Adrien Tambay 535
2. Mattias Ekström 488
3. Tom Blomqvist 434
4. Maxime Martin 421
5. Mikel Azcona 408
6. Bruno Spengler 306
7. Norbert Michelisz 293
8. Jean-Karl Vernay 254
9. Jordi Gené 223
10. Giovanni Venturini 214
11. Nicky Catsburg 188
12. Luca Filippi 181
13. Kevin Ceccon 72
