Michelisz wins race one of the ETC Cup

Norbert Michelisz has won the first race of the 2009 European Touring Car Cup in his TDI powered SEAT from BMW’s Franz Engstler and James Thompson.

Duarte Félix Da Costa recovered from an early incident to finish eighth and secure pole for race two.

From the start, Michelisz built up a healthy lead over the Liqui-Moly Team Englster BMW 320si of nearly four seconds.

In the meantime, James Thompson worked his way up to third place in the early stages, with former ETC Champion Michael Nykjaer working his way up to fourth.

In the closing stages, Engstler managed to close up on the SEAT, but was unable to find a way past, so Norbert Michelisz effectively leads the points in the ETC Cup, but will need to work his way up from 8th place in order to secure the title.

The top eight will be reversed for the final race, which gives Da Costa’s Chevrolet Lacetti pole position.