Norbert Michelisz takes over as Honda’s lead contender after Motegi victory

Honda Castrol Team JAS driver Norbert Michelisz took his third victory of the season at Motegi and is now leading the charge for Honda for the drivers’ title, benefitting from team-mate Tiago Monteiro’s continued absence and a mixed race for championship leader Thed Björk.

The main race was started behind the safety car due to rain, with the race started on lap two. Michelisz continued to hold the lead as drivers threaded carefully around the wet Japanese track.

“It was quite tough. The intensity of the rain increased for the main race and there was some aquaplaning,” said Michelisz. “But to be honest it was not that bad. Of course if you are sitting in a good car, maybe the best car for these conditions, you underrate the problems others are having. For me, of course, I’m happy because I scored the maximum points possible.”

The safety car was called into action again due to the treacherous conditions on lap seven, and remainded on track until the race was aborted on lap ten.

“I would have loved to have the race continue [without the safety car] because I was able to manage the gap to Nicky [Catsburg],” he added. “There were some tricky places on the circuit but I was happy with the points. Of course you always want to see the chequered flag but it is how it is sometimes.”

With full points awarded, Michelisz is now second in the drivers’ standings on 212 points, 16.5 behind leader Björk.

“We were really up against it to have the cars ready for this weekend, so to win the main race is a great achievement,” said Michelisz, in reference to the Honda Civic WTCCs carrying the maximum compensation weight of 80kg. “I definitely had the best car for the conditions and we’re now much closer in the drivers’ championship battle than 24 hours ago.”