Norbert Michelisz in “wrong place at the wrong time” in WTCR opener

Norbert Michelisz had a tough opening WTCR weekend at the Nürburgring Nordschleife, finishing fifth in the first – but was forced to retire from the second.

“I didn’t have a good start in Race 1 and I lost a couple of places,” said Michelisz.

“There was some contact on the right rear and I went sideways. I managed to come back a bit, the car was working well but fifth place was a bit of damage limitation.”

The 2019 champion was eliminated in the first corner chaos at the start of the second race

“My start in Race 2 was much better and I was more or less in the mix, but I was forced very wide due to some trouble on the inside,” said Michelisz.

“I tried to stay on the outside but everything got squeezed towards me. I was in the wrong place at the wrong time and in the end my race was done by the first corner. It is a shame because my target was to score some points but you have to accept that you have races like this.”

Michelisz is placed 12th in the drivers’ standings, 28 points from manufacturer colleague and points leader Jean-Karl Vernay.