Norbert Michelisz: “We should have more pace”

BRC Hyundai N Squadra Corse driver Norbert Michelisz drove a conservative Race 2 on Sunday at Valencia to achieve a third place with his Hyundai Elantra N EV TCR.

“My start was very good, so the initial launch was very good, but then there was a bad start from P2, so I took the left and, in the last moment, he also decided to take the left, so I was on the grass and I lost a lot of momentum,” the Hungarian told TouringCarTimes.

“From that moment, I did my best to stay out of trouble. Unfortunately I needed to take the outside line for T1 and then also for T2, which normally I don’t prefer.”

Team-mate Mikel Azcona let the Hungarian pass for fifth place on lap 12.

“We swapped a position with Mikel, because the feeling was that I was a little bit faster,” said Michelisz.

“So the agreement was that he lets me pass and in the end, if there was no car in between, he gets the position back.”

Geely driver Ma Qing Hua’s time-penalty positioned the Chinese driver between the two Hyundais, hence rendering impossible for Michelisz to give the position back.

“I was happy to finish on the podium but to be very honest with you, not so happy with the pace,” the Hyundai driver explained.

“Because, like I said yesterday, not carrying compensation weight and not being able to fight heavier cars, especially in conditions like this, and also on the race distance, it’s something we need to analyze, and we need to work on how to improve.

“To be honest, I did my best, and I cannot go faster than this. Of course, you can always improve, but yeah, I think we need to get faster for race.”