7th place for Michelisz on Free Practice 1

2010. július 31. 11:55 | még nem szólt hozzá senki.  szerző: Viktor Adorján

Zengő-Dension Team's Norbert Michelisz ended the first free practice of the 2010 WTCC Race of the Czech Republic on the 7th place with newer than usual tyres on his car but the main contenders for the victory haven't played their cards in Brno yet.

Just like two weeks ago in Brands Hatch the test session on Friday wasn't a part of the schedule in Brno either which means that the field of the FIA WTCC hit the track in Brno for the first time this year only on Saturday morning.

Being just a bit more than 300 kilometers away from Budapest means that the Race of the Czech Republic is almost like a home race for the team but this fact is not taking any effect on the program that Norbert Michelisz will complete over the course of the weekend.

As technical director Arnau Niubó explained on Friday evening he always wants Norbert to get a feeling on the circuit on Free Practices including the lines that are not necessarily the best ones but might be useful on the races where the drivers will need to use alternative was as they're surrounded by others as well.

Niubó said the tyres for Saturday's Free Practice 1 are in a bit better shape than they usually are which clearly made a difference as Norbert Michelisz was unusually high on the timesheets. Zengő-Dension Team's lead driver finished 7th but we shouldn't read much into it.

Progress wanted

Norbert Michelisz completed 11 laps and finished 7th with a 2:12.284 which is 0.784 seconds slower than pace setter Alain Menu's time. The Hungarian driver wasn't quite satisfied with his car, he seeks adjustments on its rear-end to make it more stable in the corners.

The 7th place doesn't represent the actual pecking order as BMWs are clearly not pushing yet but they're expected to be favorites for winning the races tomorrow as the characteristics of the circuit fits for their car.

Rain would surely help Norbert's chances but following a very dark Friday the weather is much more brighter though it is still dark and windy but the temperatures are increasing. At least the drivers don't need to worry about losing valuable tracktime because of the weather.

Photos from the Free Practices

A Chevrolet is ahead

Chevrolet's Alain Menu was fastest on Free Practice 1 with a 2:11.500 ahead of SR-Sport's Gabriele Tarquini (2:11.708) and Robert Huff (2:11.866). The fastest BMW was driven by Colin Turkington to 4th, Jordi Gené finished 5th and Andy Priaulx 6th.

Michelisz came 7th and got ahead of many top 10 regulars including the SR-Sport SEAT drivers, Augusto Farfus and Yvan Muller who finished 16th. As usual, Free Practice 2 will provide another opportunity to make the cars sharper for qualifying that will be starting at 15:00.

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