Photo: Castrol Honda WTC Team

Engine change penalty drops Ryo Michigami to the back for China Race 1

Ryo Michigami will drop to the back of the grid for the first race today at the Ningbo International Speedpark, due to an engine change on his Honda Civic WTCC.

The Japanese driver had qualified in 11th position in the Honda, just missing the top ten cut-off for the reversed grid, but the team have had to change his engine ahead of the opening race, which means he’ll start from 16th on the grid for Race 1.

He’ll start ahead of the Zengo Motorsport Honda Civic of Zsolt Szabo, after the Hungarian team both completed an engine change overnight, and also failed to take part in any track activity on Saturday, including the qualifying session.

The privateer Honda squad appealed to the stewards and have been granted permission to start the race.