Michelisz to take risks with setup in Japan
2010. október 28. 14:58 | még nem szólt hozzá senki. szerző: Viktor Adorján
There is no point to continue the season the way it has gone said Norbert Michelisz ahead the penultimate round of the 2010 WTCC season. The Hungarian leader of the Rookie Challenge plans to make his car sharp for the weekend in a bid to try to claim an outstanding result.
Japan is set to host the penultimate round of the 2010 FIA World Touring Car Championship which will be the third out of the four races this season to be held outside of Europe. This means that a strictly limited number of team personnel have travelled to Okayama earlier this week to take part on the 2010 Race of Japan.
Preparations were started right after the last European round back in September in Valencia where the equipment and the people said good bye to the trucks that carried the necessary tools across Europe as the SEAT Leon TDI went into the container for shipping to the country of the rising sun.
The Okayama International Circuit is the only non-European circuit where Norbert Michelisz has already got racing experience. This is the track where the Hungarian driver made his World Touring Car Championship debut back in 2008 with a petrol-powered SEAT Leon for winning the Italian round of the 2008 SEAT Leon EuroCup.
“I have very distant memories,” admitted Michelisz when he was asked about his feelings on the race 2 years ago.
“There won’t be any big issue in terms of the circuit, for sure. It is not an easy circuit but I would say that it is possible to setup the car for a level of 95% over one practice session and we will have three practices there before the qualifying. This is now an additional possibility for testing, I hope we will be able to make a step forward in terms of car setup and I can adjust it more for myself because there is room for improvement on the performance that we saw in Valencia.”
There is no point to continue this way
Two rounds before the end of the 2010 season Norbert Michelisz stated that he plans to change his attitude that he applied over the course of his maiden year in the highest level of touring car racing. He said, a change is needed to step forward.
“There are two rounds to go, I will take risks as there is no point to finish off the season in a fashion we have done it so far. This is clear,” he stated.
“For sure I will take emphasis on trying out things that we haven’t tried in terms of car setup. Of course it is a great result in a world championship to take a 6th or 7th place but we have two rounds left and it might be the best strategy to take some risks with the setup to be potentially successful.”
Japan is offering a new opportunity to improve the record especially since the circumstances are expected to be very different compared to the established chain of European rounds. The team is currently a lot smaller than generally, the cultural background of the country and the whole atmosphere is unlike what a European driver is accustomed.
Especially since the time zone difference is always hard to deal with and on the top of that Michelisz has struggled with a constant fallback of sickness and other implications that hindered his physical preparations. At least the climate is similar in Japan; the team reported that the ambient temperature is very low and a typhoon is expected to hit the region of the circuit on Saturday.
Arrival to Japan
Returnees and rookies in Japan
The entry list for the Race of Japan is featuring several changes and additions to the established field of the 2010 season. A notable absentee is SR-Sport’s Jordi Gené who is replaced by 2010 SEAT Leon EuroCup runner up Michael Rossi who was defeated by champion Gábor Wéber back in Valencia.
“I’m curious for Rossi’s performance. He is a quick driver but last year in the EuroCup he didn’t have a moment that I remember when he finished ahead me except in Imola. By my experience it is not possible to drive the TDI to take a top 5 finish out of the box. Colin Turkington is more likely to be a threat for the top spots,” Michelisz explained.
As the Hungarian driver pointed, 2009 BTCC champion Colin Turkington will be back in the WTCC following his exit in Brno where he was a part with a memorable collision involving Norbert Michelisz and Yvan Muller. This weekend Turkington returns with his BMW to finish off the 2010 WTCC season.
Just like Turkington, Volvo is also making its comeback to the championship this weekend with Robert Dahlgren and the C30. The squad is preparing for a full time WTCC entry next year and the race in Okayama will be a next step towards the brand’s racing return.
Get up early if you’re in Europe!
Race of Japan is expected to be an exhaustive weekend for every people dedicated to be updated on the latest news as three practices will be held before the qualifying which will be followed by another three sessions including the two races on Sunday morning.
The action will begin 16:00 local time on Friday which will be 09:00 CET for the European fans who should take the time adjustment for the winter period into account. That will take place before the morning of the 31st of October.
Stay with us for round 10 of the 2010 FIA World Touring Car Championship season!
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