Accidents take podium away from Michelisz

2010. szeptember 6. 02:26 | még nem szólt hozzá senki.  szerző: Viktor Adorján

Norbert Michelisz finished 11th in Germany after he was taken off the track twice and hit by other competitors several times over the 14 laps race distance. A collision with Tiago Monteiro cost a likely podium finish for the Hungarian driver who took the lead in the Rookie Challenge at least.

For the first time in his career Norbert Michelisz started an FIA World Touring Car Championship race from pole position which was an encouraging reward for his and Zengő-Dension Team's efforts to recover from 15th on the grid as a result of the 10 place grid penalty carried over from Brno.

On Race 1 Michelisz did what needed to be done in order to have chance for a possible good result. Taking 8th by the end of Race 1 was the biggest achievement that could have been realistically hoped and Michelisz managed to hit the target.

By jumping 7 places over Race 1 and gaining another 7 by the reverse grid system, Michelisz successfully erased the damaging effect of the penalty imposed on him and started Race 2 with a clean sheet of paper, from the front of the field.

Satisfying opening but nerve racking continuation

Michelisz immediately lost the lead at the start which was a necessary loss considering the BMWs rear wheel drive therefore their advantages in terms of starting. Andy Priaulx immediately took the lead from 3rd on the grid but Norbert Michelisz successfully fend off the attacks launched by Michel Nykjaer and held 2nd place until lap 5.

Initially it was Nykjaer who followed and sometimes attacked Michelisz but on Lap 4 Tiago Monteiro pushed the back of the Dane and took him away from his way. Nykjaer fell back and Monteiro was given a drive through penalty for his move.

Almost in the same time as the TV feed informed the world about the penalty, Monteiro drove into Michelisz as well and the Hungarian driver immediately lost every chance to stay on the podium. On the next lap Monteiro came into the pits to serve his penalty for the Nykjaer incident.

Representatives of the Zengő-Dension Team were visibly discontent with the developments but the issue was discussed as soon as the race ended.

Photos from Race 2 in Oschersleben

Then came the others

The troubles Michelisz had to face didn't end with the incident involving him and Monteiro as the Hungarian driver was eager to defend the 8th place that he managed to catch after the hit but Robert Huff was just as dedicated to take it as Michelisz was to retain it.

Both drivers did visible efforts to conserve or change the order depending their point of views including several contacts between the two cars that resulted damages on Michelisz's chassis (mainly the rear bumper) but didn't cause any major setback for him.

Eventually the Hungarian driver was taken off on Lap 12 by the Chevrolet driver which enabled Gabriele Tarquini to overtake as well with a move which was looking more aggressive than it was needed. As a result of the situation Michelisz was forced to drive through the gravel trap but he could finish the race on 11th.

Race didn't end at the checkered flag

BMW successfully managed to take a 1-2 finish with title contender Andy Priaulx claiming a start to finish victory ahead team mate Augusto Farfus. Third placed Yvan Muller was more than 8 minutes shy of Priaulx which indicates that Michelisz would have got a good shot for the podium should he not get taken out by the already penalized Monteiro.

Rookie Challenge contender Michel Nykjaer took 4th ahead Tom Coronel and Kristian Poulsen, Robert Huff, Alain Menu, Gabriele Tarquini and Jordi Gené who scored the last point and finished right ahead Norbert Michelisz.

Right after the race Tiago Monteiro reportedly apologized to Norbert Michelisz before heading over to the Zengő-Dension Team pit wall for a discussion with Zoltán Zengő. The mostly chilly Oschersleben became a heated place in a minute while the team started to pack up the equipment for leaving Germany.

The result on Race 2 is a clear disappointment but Norbert Michelisz was philosophical on his performance and said he was happy to be in the fight especially as he felt that the opponents didn't find a proper way to get through him.

Stewards seem to agreed his views as Monteiro was given another drive through penalty converted into a 30 seconds time penalty and just like Huff, he got a 10 place grid penalty suspended for 2 races.

For Norbert Michelisz another chance will open in Valencia in two weeks time, that will host the final European round of the 2010 FIA World Touring Car Championship season.

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