Race Report

Best WTCR weekend yet for Tassi on chaotic raceday in China

15 Sep 2019

WTCR Race of China

Ningbo International Speedpark, China

WTCR 2019, Round 7

Attila Tassi picked his way through a chaotic day of WTCR – FIA World Touring Car Championship racing at Ningbo International Speedpark in China to secure his highest weekend points total in the series.

A superb drive from 17th on the Race-Two grid to sixth in the race – which included passing two cars in one move on the final lap – was a fitting reward for the KCMG driver.

The Hungarian then added 12th place in Race Three in his Honda Civic Type R TCR to complete his 15-point haul.

Team-mate Tiago Monteiro was lucky to walk away from a high-speed collision with the pitwall in Race Three; an incident for which his assailant was given a drive-through penalty and investigated further.

The Portuguese driver had qualified 17th – a big improvement on his Saturday form –, but was pushed off the circuit by another car on the opening lap of Race Two and retired in the pits with the damage sustained as his Civic Type R TCR bumped over the trackside grass.

If the day was bad for Tiago though, it was positively disastrous for the man who began the day leading the Drivers’ Championship; Esteban Guerrieri.

The ALL-INKL.COM Münnich Motorsport driver put his Saturday maladies behind him to qualify sixth; one thousandth of a second slower than the time needed to progress to the Q3 pole-position shoot-out.

That was the highlight as he was spun into the wall by another car on the opening lap of Race Two and then suffered more contact at the same stage of Race Three and suffered a broken left-front trackrod, which snapped under safety-car conditions before half-distance.

Team-mate Nestor Girolami qualified a superb third, but lost his Q2 times when he was held responsible for causing a red flag in the session, putting him back to 17th and 12th for the two races.

Contact from another car put him out of Race Two and he was lucky to avoid a four-car collision at the start of the finale; eventually finishing eighth.

Münnich Motorsport have lost the lead of the Teams’ Championship as a result while Esteban and Nestor are now second and sixth in the Drivers’ standings.

2019 WTCR Race of China

Honda Pro Racing / David Noels

Attila Tassi ⁹

“If you’d told me yesterday that I’d have had my highest WTCR weekend points total here, I woudn’t have believed you, but I managed to stay away from the really big impacts. I think that was down to luck as much as anything else because the level of aggression shown on-track was very high. It’s not how I like to race, but I felt I had to be more aggressive just to stand my ground.”

KCMG

Tiago Monteiro ¹⁸

“I’m ok, which is about the best thing I can say about this weekend. It was a big impact, but I was checked over and there’s nothing wrong with me. In all three races I was hit many, many times and it’s frustrating that we seem to have gone back to where we were in Slovakia and the Netherlands. It’s like nobody has any respect for anyone else on the track; we’re all just targets to be hit. I hoped I could avoid some of the chaos, like Attila, but it wasn’t possible.”

KCMG

Esteban Guerrieri ⁸⁶

“Zero points this weekend. It’s the worst situation we could imagine and I’m now behind in the championship. I knew the last four rounds were going to get dirty. There are people who want to make sure I don’t score points. Sometimes you can escape this, but this weekend I could not. I got hit by a many cars in Race Two and was in the barrier, and then by another driver in Race Three, which bent my trackrod and caused it to break when the safety car came out. A really terrible weekend, but all I can do is forget about it and try to get some momentum back at Suzuka.”

ALL-INKL.COM Münnich Motorsport

Nestor Girolami ²⁹

“I qualified third, which I was so happy with after what happened yesterday, but once qualifying ended, everything started to fall apart. The driving was too aggressive and the BoP situation is crazy. We can mask it a bit in qualifying because we have very good corner speed, but in a race situation, if someone is 10-15kph faster than you on the straights because that what the BoP allows, you cannot compete with that. I’m glad this weekend is over and I hope we don’t have another one like this for the rest of the year.”

ALL-INKL.COM Münnich Motorsport

Dario d'Esposito

Team Principal

“The main thing is that Tiago is okay after his accident and I was very pleased to see him walking away from the car. We will change the engine and the chassis now before Suzuka, which will take a lot of work. Attila has done a fantastic job. It’s his first time racing here and for a young driver who was on such a high after Vila Real, the long gap wasn’t ideal. He’s improved in every session, eventually coming away with a fantastic sixth place. He’s stayed away from the crashes and the contact and really deserves this."

KCMG

Dominik Greiner

Team Manager

“To say this is a weekend to forget would be a huge understatement. To start with more than 70 points advantage in the Teams’ Championship and lose the lead in one weekend shows you the kind of luck we’ve had. The one positive of the weekend is that the spirit in this team is still incredible and the speed with which the boys fixed both cars after the damage in Race Two was amazing. This spirit will help us to go to Japan and put this one out of our minds.”

ALL-INKL.COM Münnich Motorsport

15 Sep 2019

WTCR Race of China

Ningbo International Speedpark, China

WTCR 2019, Round 7

Sunday 15 Sep 2019, 09:54 Europe/London

#	Driver	Num	Nationality Nat.	Total	Team	Constructor Constr.	Time/Gap
1	Yvan Muller	100	FRA	25	Cyan Racing Lynk & Co	Lynk & Co	18 laps
2	Yann Ehrlacher	68	FRA	20	Cyan Performance Lynk & Co	Lynk & Co	+0.431
3	Gabriele Tarquini	1	ITA	16	BRC Hyundai N Squadra Corse	Hyundai	+1.234
4	Augusto Farfus	8	BRA	13	BRC Hyundai N LUKOIL Racing Team	Hyundai	+3.380
5	Thed Björk	11	SWE	11	Cyan Racing Lynk & Co	Lynk & Co	+4.248
6	Aurélien Panis	21	FRA	10	Comtoyou DHL Team Cupra Racing	Audi	+5.064
7	Frederic Vervisch	22	BEL	9	Comtoyou Team Audi Sport	Audi	+6.891
8	Nestor Girolami	29	ARG	8	ALL-INKL.COM Münnich Motorsport	Honda	+11.729
9	Kevin Ceccon	31	ITA	7	Mulsanne Srl	Alfa Romeo	+12.396
10	Johan Kristoffersson	14	SWE	6	Sébastien Loeb Racing Volkswagen	Volkswagen	+13.903
11	Andy Priaulx	111	GBR	5	Cyan Performance Lynk & Co	Lynk & Co	+16.238
12	Tom Coronel	50	NDL	4	Comtoyou DHL Team Cupra Racing	Cupra	+16.884
13	Attila Tassi	9	HUN	3	KCMG	Honda	+19.654
14	Mehdi Bennani	25	MAR	2	Sébastien Loeb Racing Volkswagen Motorsport	Volkswagen	+28.521
15	Gordon Shedden	52	GBR	1	Leopard Racing Team Audi Sport	Audi	+37.661
NC	Qing Hua Ma	55	CHN	0	Mulsanne Srl	Alfa Romeo	DNF
NC	Nick Catsburg	88	NDL	0	BRC Hyundai N LUKOIL Racing Team	Hyundai	DNF
NC	Esteban Guerrieri	86	ARG	0	ALL-INKL.COM Münnich Motorsport	Honda	DNF
NC	Tiago Monteiro	18	POR	0	KCMG	Honda	DNF
NC	Mikel Azcona	96	SPA	0	PWR Racing	Cupra	DNF
NC	Rob Huff	12	GBR	0	Sébastien Loeb Racing Volkswagen Motorsport	Volkswagen	DNF
NC	Niels Langeveld	10	NDL	0	Comtoyou Team Audi Sport	Audi	DNF
NC	Norbert Michelisz	5	HUN	0	BRC Hyundai N Squadra Corse	Hyundai	DNF
NC	Daniel Haglof	37	SWE	0	PWR Racing	Cupra	DNF
NC	Jean-Karl Vernay	69	FRA	0	Leopard Racing Team Audi Sport	Audi	DNF
NC	Benjamin Leuchter	33	GER	0	Sébastien Loeb Racing Volkswagen	Volkswagen	DNF

Sunday 15 Sep 2019, 08:17 Europe/London

#	Driver	Num	Nationality Nat.	Total	Team	Constructor Constr.	Time/Gap
1	Norbert Michelisz	5	HUN	25	BRC Hyundai N Squadra Corse	Hyundai	15 laps
2	Gabriele Tarquini	1	ITA	20	BRC Hyundai N Squadra Corse	Hyundai	+0.776
3	Yvan Muller	100	FRA	16	Cyan Racing Lynk & Co	Lynk & Co	+1.537
4	Thed Björk	11	SWE	13	Cyan Racing Lynk & Co	Lynk & Co	+1.906
5	Daniel Haglof	37	SWE	11	PWR Racing	Cupra	+2.360
6	Attila Tassi	9	HUN	10	KCMG	Honda	+6.708
7	Rob Huff	12	GBR	9	Sébastien Loeb Racing Volkswagen Motorsport	Volkswagen	+7.670
8	Tom Coronel	50	NDL	8	Comtoyou DHL Team Cupra Racing	Cupra	+11.623
9	Kevin Ceccon	31	ITA	7	Mulsanne Srl	Alfa Romeo	+11.961
10	Jean-Karl Vernay	69	FRA	6	Leopard Racing Team Audi Sport	Audi	+12.565
11	Mehdi Bennani	25	MAR	5	Sébastien Loeb Racing Volkswagen Motorsport	Volkswagen	+12.766
12	Johan Kristoffersson	14	SWE	4	Sébastien Loeb Racing Volkswagen	Volkswagen	+13.120
13	Gordon Shedden	52	GBR	3	Leopard Racing Team Audi Sport	Audi	+13.676
14	Yann Ehrlacher	68	FRA	2	Cyan Performance Lynk & Co	Lynk & Co	+14.307
15	Nick Catsburg	88	NDL	1	BRC Hyundai N LUKOIL Racing Team	Hyundai	+41.402
16	Andy Priaulx	111	GBR	0	Cyan Performance Lynk & Co	Lynk & Co	+2 laps
17	Aurélien Panis	21	FRA	0	Comtoyou DHL Team Cupra Racing	Audi	+5 laps
NC	Mikel Azcona	96	SPA	0	PWR Racing	Cupra	DNF
NC	Nestor Girolami	29	ARG	0	ALL-INKL.COM Münnich Motorsport	Honda	DNF
NC	Tiago Monteiro	18	POR	0	KCMG	Honda	DNF
NC	Esteban Guerrieri	86	ARG	0	ALL-INKL.COM Münnich Motorsport	Honda	DNF
NC	Frederic Vervisch	22	BEL	0	Comtoyou Team Audi Sport	Audi	DNF
NC	Augusto Farfus	8	BRA	0	BRC Hyundai N LUKOIL Racing Team	Hyundai	DNF
NC	Qing Hua Ma	55	CHN	0	Mulsanne Srl	Alfa Romeo	DNF
NC	Benjamin Leuchter	33	GER	0	Sébastien Loeb Racing Volkswagen	Volkswagen	DNF
NC	Niels Langeveld	10	NDL	0	Comtoyou Team Audi Sport	Audi	DNF

Sunday 15 Sep 2019, 03:01 Europe/London

#	Driver	Num	Nationality Nat.	Total	Team	Constructor Constr.	Time/Gap
1	Yvan Muller	100	FRA	5	Cyan Racing Lynk & Co	Lynk & Co	1:50.135
2	Yann Ehrlacher	68	FRA	4	Cyan Performance Lynk & Co	Lynk & Co	+1:40.417
3	Nestor Girolami	29	ARG	3	ALL-INKL.COM Münnich Motorsport	Honda	+1:50.497
4	Aurélien Panis	21	FRA	2	Comtoyou DHL Team Cupra Racing	Audi	+1:50.536
5	Nick Catsburg	88	NDL	1	BRC Hyundai N LUKOIL Racing Team	Hyundai	+1:50.735
6	Esteban Guerrieri	86	ARG	0	ALL-INKL.COM Münnich Motorsport	Honda	+1:50.514
7	Gabriele Tarquini	1	ITA	0	BRC Hyundai N Squadra Corse	Hyundai	+1:50.538
8	Augusto Farfus	8	BRA	0	BRC Hyundai N LUKOIL Racing Team	Hyundai	+1:50.710
9	Thed Björk	11	SWE	0	Cyan Racing Lynk & Co	Lynk & Co	+1:50.743
10	Norbert Michelisz	5	HUN	0	BRC Hyundai N Squadra Corse	Hyundai	+1:50.794
11	Andy Priaulx	111	GBR	0	Cyan Performance Lynk & Co	Lynk & Co	+1:50.821
12	Qing Hua Ma	55	CHN	0	Mulsanne Srl	Alfa Romeo	+No time
13	Daniel Haglof	37	SWE	0	PWR Racing	Cupra	+1:50.568
14	Jean-Karl Vernay	69	FRA	0	Leopard Racing Team Audi Sport	Audi	+1:50.609
15	Frederic Vervisch	22	BEL	0	Comtoyou Team Audi Sport	Audi	+1:50.735
16	Mikel Azcona	96	SPA	0	PWR Racing	Cupra	+1:50.785
17	Attila Tassi	9	HUN	0	KCMG	Honda	+1:50.876
18	Tiago Monteiro	18	POR	0	KCMG	Honda	+1:50.912
19	Benjamin Leuchter	33	GER	0	Sébastien Loeb Racing Volkswagen	Volkswagen	+1:50.950
20	Rob Huff	12	GBR	0	Sébastien Loeb Racing Volkswagen Motorsport	Volkswagen	+1:51.003
21	Tom Coronel	50	NDL	0	Comtoyou DHL Team Cupra Racing	Cupra	+1:51.067
22	Johan Kristoffersson	14	SWE	0	Sébastien Loeb Racing Volkswagen	Volkswagen	+1:51.086
23	Niels Langeveld	10	NDL	0	Comtoyou Team Audi Sport	Audi	+1:51.124
24	Mehdi Bennani	25	MAR	0	Sébastien Loeb Racing Volkswagen Motorsport	Volkswagen	+1:51.130
25	Gordon Shedden	52	GBR	0	Leopard Racing Team Audi Sport	Audi	+1:51.420
26	Kevin Ceccon	31	ITA	0	Mulsanne Srl	Alfa Romeo	+No time

Saturday 14 Sep 2019, 09:16 Europe/London

#	Driver	Num	Nationality Nat.	Total	Team	Constructor Constr.	Time/Gap
1	Yvan Muller	100	FRA	25	Cyan Racing Lynk & Co	Lynk & Co	13 laps
2	Qing Hua Ma	55	CHN	20	Mulsanne Srl	Alfa Romeo	+0.263
3	Mikel Azcona	96	SPA	16	PWR Racing	Cupra	+2.444
4	Norbert Michelisz	5	HUN	13	BRC Hyundai N Squadra Corse	Hyundai	+2.843
5	Nick Catsburg	88	NDL	11	BRC Hyundai N LUKOIL Racing Team	Hyundai	+3.092
6	Aurélien Panis	21	FRA	10	Comtoyou DHL Team Cupra Racing	Audi	+3.603
7	Augusto Farfus	8	BRA	9	BRC Hyundai N LUKOIL Racing Team	Hyundai	+9.028
8	Johan Kristoffersson	14	SWE	8	Sébastien Loeb Racing Volkswagen	Volkswagen	+11.440
9	Niels Langeveld	10	NDL	7	Comtoyou Team Audi Sport	Audi	+12.526
10	Rob Huff	12	GBR	6	Sébastien Loeb Racing Volkswagen Motorsport	Volkswagen	+13.903
11	Frederic Vervisch	22	BEL	5	Comtoyou Team Audi Sport	Audi	+15.440
12	Thed Björk	11	SWE	4	Cyan Racing Lynk & Co	Lynk & Co	+18.021
13	Yann Ehrlacher	68	FRA	3	Cyan Performance Lynk & Co	Lynk & Co	+18.602
14	Andy Priaulx	111	GBR	2	Cyan Performance Lynk & Co	Lynk & Co	+19.602
15	Nestor Girolami	29	ARG	1	ALL-INKL.COM Münnich Motorsport	Honda	+20.069
16	Jean-Karl Vernay	69	FRA	0	Leopard Racing Team Audi Sport	Audi	+20.631
17	Kevin Ceccon	31	ITA	0	Mulsanne Srl	Alfa Romeo	+21.118
18	Benjamin Leuchter	33	GER	0	Sébastien Loeb Racing Volkswagen	Volkswagen	+21.515
19	Esteban Guerrieri	86	ARG	0	ALL-INKL.COM Münnich Motorsport	Honda	+23.224
20	Mehdi Bennani	25	MAR	0	Sébastien Loeb Racing Volkswagen Motorsport	Volkswagen	+26.212
21	Tiago Monteiro	18	POR	0	KCMG	Honda	+26.576
22	Gordon Shedden	52	GBR	0	Leopard Racing Team Audi Sport	Audi	+28.614
23	Attila Tassi	9	HUN	0	KCMG	Honda	+29.585
24	Tom Coronel	50	NDL	0	Comtoyou DHL Team Cupra Racing	Cupra	+39.538
25	Gabriele Tarquini	1	ITA	0	BRC Hyundai N Squadra Corse	Hyundai	+4 laps
NC	Daniel Haglof	37	SWE	0	PWR Racing	Cupra	DNF

Saturday 14 Sep 2019, 05:16 Europe/London

#	Driver	Num	Nationality Nat.	Total	Team	Constructor Constr.	Time/Gap
1	Yvan Muller	100	FRA	5	Cyan Racing Lynk & Co	Lynk & Co	1:50.848
2	Qing Hua Ma	55	CHN	4	Mulsanne Srl	Alfa Romeo	+1:50.898
3	Mikel Azcona	96	SPA	3	PWR Racing	Cupra	+1:50.988
4	Norbert Michelisz	5	HUN	2	BRC Hyundai N Squadra Corse	Hyundai	+1:51.015
5	Johan Kristoffersson	14	SWE	1	Sébastien Loeb Racing Volkswagen	Volkswagen	+1:51.118
6	Nick Catsburg	88	NDL	0	BRC Hyundai N LUKOIL Racing Team	Hyundai	+1:51.265
7	Aurélien Panis	21	FRA	0	Comtoyou DHL Team Cupra Racing	Audi	+1:51.309
8	Augusto Farfus	8	BRA	0	BRC Hyundai N LUKOIL Racing Team	Hyundai	+1:51.406
9	Esteban Guerrieri	86	ARG	0	ALL-INKL.COM Münnich Motorsport	Honda	+1:51.427
10	Daniel Haglof	37	SWE	0	PWR Racing	Cupra	+1:51.493
11	Niels Langeveld	10	NDL	0	Comtoyou Team Audi Sport	Audi	+1:51.521
12	Andy Priaulx	111	GBR	0	Cyan Performance Lynk & Co	Lynk & Co	+1:51.526
13	Thed Björk	11	SWE	0	Cyan Racing Lynk & Co	Lynk & Co	+1:51.557
14	Kevin Ceccon	31	ITA	0	Mulsanne Srl	Alfa Romeo	+1:51.575
15	Frederic Vervisch	22	BEL	0	Comtoyou Team Audi Sport	Audi	+1:51.652
16	Yann Ehrlacher	68	FRA	0	Cyan Performance Lynk & Co	Lynk & Co	+1:51.749
17	Rob Huff	12	GBR	0	Sébastien Loeb Racing Volkswagen Motorsport	Volkswagen	+1:51.791
18	Nestor Girolami	29	ARG	0	ALL-INKL.COM Münnich Motorsport	Honda	+1:51.807
19	Mehdi Bennani	25	MAR	0	Sébastien Loeb Racing Volkswagen Motorsport	Volkswagen	+1:51.809
20	Benjamin Leuchter	33	GER	0	Sébastien Loeb Racing Volkswagen	Volkswagen	+1:51.828
21	Tiago Monteiro	18	POR	0	KCMG	Honda	+1:51.847
22	Jean-Karl Vernay	69	FRA	0	Leopard Racing Team Audi Sport	Audi	+1:52.868
23	Gabriele Tarquini	1	ITA	0	BRC Hyundai N Squadra Corse	Hyundai	+1:52.026
24	Attila Tassi	9	HUN	0	KCMG	Honda	+1:52.089
25	Tom Coronel	50	NDL	0	Comtoyou DHL Team Cupra Racing	Cupra	+1:52.162
26	Gordon Shedden	52	GBR	0	Leopard Racing Team Audi Sport	Audi	+1:52.599

Driver Standings

Sunday, 15 Sep 2019

#	Driver	Num	Nationality Nat.	Points Pts.	Team	Constructor Constr.
1	Norbert MICHELISZ	5	HUN	247	BRC Hyundai N Squadra Corse	Hyundai
2	Esteban GUERRIERI	86	ARG	231	ALL-INKL.COM Münnich Motorsport	Honda
3	Yvan MULLER	100	FRA	230	Cyan Racing Lynk & Co	Lynk & Co
4	Thed BJöRK	11	SWE	209	Cyan Racing Lynk & Co	Lynk & Co
5	Mikel AZCONA	96	SPA	188	PWR Racing	Cupra
6	Nestor GIROLAMI	29	ARG	186	ALL-INKL.COM Münnich Motorsport	Honda
7	Yann EHRLACHER	68	FRA	177	Cyan Performance Lynk & Co	Lynk & Co
8	Gabriele TARQUINI	1	ITA	156	BRC Hyundai N Squadra Corse	Hyundai
9	Frederic VERVISCH	22	BEL	150	Comtoyou Team Audi Sport	Audi
10	Augusto FARFUS	8	BRA	141	BRC Hyundai N LUKOIL Racing Team	Hyundai
11	Nick CATSBURG	88	NDL	131	BRC Hyundai N LUKOIL Racing Team	Hyundai
12	Jean-Karl VERNAY	69	FRA	129	Leopard Racing Team Audi Sport	Audi
13	Qing Hua MA	55	CHN	128	Mulsanne Srl	Alfa Romeo
14	Rob HUFF	12	GBR	123	Sébastien Loeb Racing Volkswagen Motorsport	Volkswagen
15	Johan KRISTOFFERSSON	14	SWE	114	Sébastien Loeb Racing Volkswagen	Volkswagen
16	Aurélien PANIS	21	FRA	93	Comtoyou DHL Team Cupra Racing	Audi
17	Benjamin LEUCHTER	33	GER	87	Sébastien Loeb Racing Volkswagen	Volkswagen
18	Kevin CECCON	31	ITA	62	Mulsanne Srl	Alfa Romeo
19	Tiago MONTEIRO	18	POR	58	KCMG	Honda
20	Tom CORONEL	50	NDL	55	Comtoyou DHL Team Cupra Racing	Cupra
21	Attila TASSI	9	HUN	52	KCMG	Honda
22	Andy PRIAULX	111	GBR	50	Cyan Performance Lynk & Co	Lynk & Co
23	Daniel HAGLOF	37	SWE	46	PWR Racing	Cupra
24	Niels LANGEVELD	10	NDL	39	Comtoyou Team Audi Sport	Audi
25	Mehdi BENNANI	25	MAR	33	Sébastien Loeb Racing Volkswagen Motorsport	Volkswagen
26	Gordon SHEDDEN	52	GBR	33	Leopard Racing Team Audi Sport	Audi