Honda drivers happy with their qualifying results in Argentina

Norbert Michelisz and Tiago Monteiro are happy with their grid spots behind Polestar Volvo driver Nicky Catsburg for today’s races at Termas de Río Hondo, where the two drivers hope to make the most in the championship battle against Volvo’s Thed Björk.

Championship leader Monteiro will start third, while Michelisz’s brief run of pole positions came to an end as the Hungarian qualified in second, though a post-qualifying investigation into pole-sitter Nicky Catsburg’s lap meant for a while it looked possible it could have become Michelisz’s third pole in a row.

“Second place was the maximum that was achievable today,” said Michelisz. “The team has done a fantastic job to make the car excellent from the first lap of Free Practice 1, but we had a little issue with the brakes that meant we had to change the discs and pads between Q2 and Q3, and this maybe had an effect on the performance.

“Second is still a very good place to start from and gives me some very important bonus points for the championship.”

Monteiro wasn’t downbeat after qualifying, while increasing his lead from four to six points over Volvo’s Thed Björk, who starts fifth on the grid after a mistake in his third sector in the top-five shootout.

“I thought pole position was possible today so it’s a little disappointing not to get it,” said Monteiro. “I’ve had a fantastic car, but you still need to nail a perfect lap to take a pole position in the WTCC and I didn’t do this because I was a bit greedy in the final sector and asked for a bit more than was possible.

“Third place is still my best grid position in Argentina since we’ve been coming here, so that’s an improvement and puts me in a very good position for the race, when I know the Honda’s race pace will be very strong.”