Strong qualifying result for Zengõ pair in Portugal

Gábor Wéber qualified seventh in Portugal, taking his best grid position in what’s presently scheduled to be his last race of the season, whilst team-mate Norbert Michelisz’s third sealed a great qualifying result for the Hungarian team.

Michelisz will be the best placed BMW driver in the first race and was also the fastest independents’ class driver, whilst Wéber’s third also means he will be the top placed BMW in the second race which features the reversed grid, which strongly favours the rear-wheel drive BMWs.

Wéber’s seventh fastest time in Q2 is also his best qualifying result in only his sixth WTCC event in his rookie season in the Championship.

“It was a long time coming,” said Wéber to TouringCarTimes. “Since the Slovakiaring I’ve found a different set-up on the car that works for me, but I had a problem with the car in Hungaroring and the same in the Salzburgring with the gearbox and some other things, but of course you can always say that.”

“I’ve never been here, but it’s a great track. In the morning I had some stomach problems so I felt bad in the car and was dead last, but in FP2 I was much better and even though the track was getting slower I was getting much faster.”

Wéber’s new to rear-wheel drive this year, just as team-mate Norbert Michelisz was to the car last season, and it’s been a tough first few races getting used to the car.

“It’s been really hard to adjust myself to the BMW because I was driving front-wheel drive for ten years,” said Wéber. “It’s really different to set-up and it’s really difficult to drive. It’s not because of the car, or the power, it’s the front I have problems with – how it grips and how it turns, but now I have some decent balance, much quicker than it was in the beginning of the year.”

The 40-year-old Hungarian will be one of many well placed BMWs in tomorrow’s races along with Michelisz and the two ROAL Motorsport BMWs of Tom Coronel and Alberto Cerqui, and with the front-wheel drive Chevrolets and SEATs likely to be protecting their tyres more in the races tomorrow after the eight punctures seen in Austria, this could bode well for the BMW teams tomorrow.

“Even for us, after three or four laps in free practice the front-left was going away,” said Wéber. “So I think for them it’s going to be a lot worse. I hope for a good race, especially in race two when I start P4. We have to keep the car in one piece in race one and have a good position as much as we can and score some points.”

This round is also Wéber’s last scheduled appearance for the season, with Zengõ Motorsport running Michelisz for the whole season and Wéber just for the European rounds, but Wéber admits the plan is extend that if possible.

“We’re thinking about it. We have one and a half months till Brazil. I’m still in contact with some sponsors, for the moment I’m taking it race-by-race. I want to be better with the BMW and see how it ends up, but this result is more what I expected when I started the year, but obviously the competition is very tough and I had no prior knowledge of the car.”

Norbert Michelisz, starting third behind Gabriele Tarquini’s SEAT and Yvan Muller’s Chevrolet expects it will all come down to the weather and the tyres tomorrow, sheepishly not ruling out the possibility of a second victory on Sunday.

“In terms of pace, we’re a little bit too far away for a race victory,” said Michelisz. “But if it’s hot enough tomorrow, maybe the second part of the first race we can be the fastest car on the circuit and then who knows what can happen.”