Azcona and Michelisz win Pool Fast quarter finals amid tyre struggles
Hyundai won both Pool Fast FIA ETCR quarter finals at Vallelunga. Mikel Azcona and Norbert Michelisz were both able to avoid tyre issues which hit rivals Adrien Tambay, Jordi Gené and Luca Filippi.
At the start of quarter final 1 there was a strong battle between Azcona and Romeo Ferraris’ Bruno Spengler, the Canadian briefly getting ahead of the Veloster N ETCR driver.
The Spaniard managed to get back ahead and started opening a comfortable gap ahead, with Adrien Tambay chasing them.
The Cupra driver looked slightly quicker than Spengler, but a left rear puncture just as the last lap was starting left him with no chance. Azcona therefore took a commanding win ahead of Spengler, with Tambay finishing a distant third.
The quarter final 2 green lights saw Michelisz take the lead in his Hyundai, ahead of Filippi in the Romeo Ferraris Giulia and Gené’s Cupra.
The Hungarian immediately opened a gap as Filippi had to defend from his Spanish rival. Although the Italian seemed to struggle under braking, he also seemed to have an edge in terms of traction, which made the defense slightly easier.
On lap 4, Gené hit tyre trouble, just as Michelisz seemed to suffer from a slight performance drop. On the final lap Filippi also suffered from a tyre issue, leaving Michelisz to win the Pool Fast quarter final 2.
The first Pool Furious quarter final starts at 18:45 CEST.
