Mikel Azcona tops Free Practice 2 ahead of Norbert Michelisz
Mikel Azcona set an impressive pace for PWR Racing in the final World Touring Car Cup practice session of the year, leading BRC Hyundai duo Norbert Michelisz and Gabriele Tarquini by two tenths at Sepang.
Azcona threw in a 2:14.989 best – the first lap of the weekend below the 2:15 mark – to seal first place in his Cupra TCR, the top 2019 rookie looking comfortable out on track from the start.
Azcona’s benchmark left him 0.217 clear of points leader Michelisz, who in turn led a closely packed train of ten cars covered by just over two tenths of a second.
Having topped the opening practice session earlier on Friday, Michelisz edged out team-mate Tarquini – the man he is trying to emulate as WTCR champion – by a fraction, as Hyundai indicated strong form with four cars inside the top seven.
Ma Qing Hua was fourth fastest for Team Mulsanne Alfa Romeo, right on Tarquini’s tail, with Frédéric Vervisch completing the top five aboard his Comtoyou Audi.
Nicky Catsburg took sixth, surviving a close call when he clipped a tyre stack on the exit of Turn 6 along the way, with the returning Augusto Farfus (who sat out the Macau round to instead race in the FIA GT World Cup on that same weekend) in P7.
Aurélien Panis underpinned Cupra’s strong pace at Sepang by going eighth fastest, less than four tenths off Azcona’s pace-setting sister car, while Niels Langeveld was ninth for Audi.
Tiago Monteiro spearheaded a trio of Honda cars in positions ten to twelve, the KCMG racer leading Münnich Motorsport pair Néstor Girolami and Esteban Guerrieri – who were seen dragging each other along Sepang’s vast straights during the session.
Title contender Guerrieri wound up seven tenths off the pace.
Meanwhile, Lynk & Co continued their FP1 struggles, Yvan Muller the leading Cyan Racing entry in 15th place with fellow championship hopeful Thed Björk only 23rd.
Next up today is Qualifying 1 at 15:15 local time / 08:15 CET. With an increasing probability of rain and thunderstorms threatening to hit the Sepang International Circuit during the afternoon, the stage could be set for yet another dramatic twist to the title showdown.
