Title candidates not intimidated by Sepang rain

The four drivers still in contention for the 2019 World Touring Car Cup are not fazed by a change in weather conditions at the season grand finale in Sepang, with Sunday’s title-deciding races likely to be run in the wet.

After Friday’s practice and qualifying sessions took place in hot and dry conditions, precipitation arrived on the Malaysian west coast on Saturday, soaking the Sepang area.

The rain has continued to fall on Sunday morning, albeit more sporadically, and the forecast offers only small chances of the sun breaking through during the afternoon.

The change in climatic conditions could potentially upstage the WTCR finale, especially for championship leader Norbert Michelisz who dominated in the dry on Friday on his way to double pole positions – but the Hungarian Hyundai driver did not appear too concerned by the weather when quizzed by TouringCarTimes.

“For me it’s OK, dry or wet,” said Michelisz. “What is important is not having something in between, because that can make things go really wrong when you are at the front. But I feel ready for every scenario. It will be tough if we have the night race (Sunday’s season-ending Race 3 will be staged under floodlights) in the wet with all the spray, but if it adds to the excitement, I am OK racing in the rain.”

Michelisz’s main title protagonist, Esteban Guerrieri, was even less worried, the Honda driver knowing that his pace disadvantage in the dry could potentially be eradicated.

“For me, I prefer wet definitely. It’s more mixed, more unpredictable.”

Lynk & Co Cyan Racing duo Yvan Muller and Thed Björk, the two title outsiders following their poor qualifying performances, are joining Guerrieri in a metaphorical rain dance on Sunday.

“Wet or mixed,” Muller replied when asked what he would prefer. “Something different than dry because we are not fast enough in the dry. Mixed or wet is our last chance to win. But maybe we are even slower in the wet! We will see.”

Björk added:

“We will be fighting for three races just trying to do all the overtaking we can to score some points, and we will see where we will end up. We have one more day and three races just to go as fast as we can. Mixed or rain will help us so we are hoping for that.”