Race Report

Civic Type R TCR on top of the world in Morocco

WTCR Race of Morocco

Circuit International Automobile Moulay el Hassan, Morocco

WTCR 2019, Round 1

The Honda Civic Type R heads the race for the WTCR – FIA World Touring Car Cup for Teams after a fantastic Sunday for ALL-INKL.COM Münnich Motorsport on the streets of Marrakech.

Drivers Esteban Guerrieri and Nestor Girolami backed up yesterday’s win and third place with a pair of strong finishes to ensure that the German team holds a 12-point lead in the teams’ title race with the first three of 30 races completed.

Esteban, who kicked off the season with an impressive victory, twice finished fourth in a pair of gruelling races to leave himself second in the Drivers’ points table; just five away from the series lead.

Team-mate and fellow Argentinian ‘Bebu’ dug deep after qualifying 11th and came home 10th and sixth in the two races on the semi-permanent Circuit Moulay el Hassan. He’s fourth in the points.

KCMG were the best-performing Honda customer team in qualifying as Tiago Monteiro capped his comeback weekend by reaching the Q3 pole-position shoot-out in qualifying and qualifying fourth in an intensely-fought session.

Starting seventh on the partially-reversed Race Two grid, the Portuguese was boxed in at the start and dropped to ninth, but recovered to eighth by the chequered flag.

A strong start in Race Three from the second row soon turned sour when he was caught in the middle of a three-car battle for position at Turn Seven on the opening lap and had no chance to avoid the crashed Yann Ehrlacher as the Frenchman’s car rebounded off the tyres and into his path; the damage ending his race on the spot.

Team-mate Attila Tassi produced the lap of the weekend to climb from 21st on the Race-Three grid to 14th after the lights went out in Race Three. The Hungarian teenager continued his rapid progress to take a career-best 11th place, having finished 20th earlier in the day.

KCMG are eighth in the Teams’ standings with Tiago and Attila ninth and 19th in the Drivers’ points ahead of the latter’s home event at the Hungaroring in three weeks’ time.

2019 WTCR Race of Morocco
Honda Pro Racing / David Noels
2019 WTCR Race of Morocco
Honda Pro Racing / David Noels
2019 WTCR Race of Morocco
Honda Pro Racing / David Noels
Esteban Guerrieri

Esteban Guerrieri 86

“It’s been a very positive day for me. Qualifying was a little disappointing and I picked up some damage to my splitter that compromised the performance, but from seventh in qualifying, two fourth places are very pleasing and mean big points for both myself and the team. With the win yesterday, this is the highest-scoring weekend of my WTCR career. I targeted 33 points and have 56 so that’s very good. Honestly, the team have simply done an amazing job and the Civic Type R TCR has been fast in every session. This is a great weekend for everyone.”

ALL-INKL.COM Münnich Motorsport
Nestor Girolami

Nestor Girolami 29

“It’s such an awesome weekend. Today wasn’t quite as good as yesterday, but I’m fourth in the championship and we’re leading the Teams’ points so it couldn’t have gone much better. Having Esteban as my team-mate is very positive because we are pushing each other to take the level higher and higher, and at the same time the team is doing the same, because WTCR is now at a higher level of drivers and teams than almost any touring car championship has been before. The guys at ALL-INKL.COM Münnich Motorsport and JAS made a huge effort to get this and I’ve gone from being 1.5 seconds off the pace in first practice, to right on the money today in Q1. We all leave here very happy.”

ALL-INKL.COM Münnich Motorsport
Tiago Monteiro

Tiago Monteiro 18

“I’m pleased with the speed of the Honda this weekend and with my own performance, because I’ve proved that I’m completely back to normal and that feels really good. It’s a shame that I lost my first set of new tyres in qualifying because of a yellow flag, which meant I had to use an extra set in Q1 and so had to do Q3 on old tyres, but fourth was still very good. I didn’t take any risks in Race Two because I knew I had a good chance of a Race Three podium, but the first lap was very scrappy and I was hit five or six times and got a little damage. Two other cars were either side of me at Turn Seven and it was too tight, so that was it; race over. I’m feeling good for Hungary.”

KCMG
Attila Tassi

Attila Tassi 9

“It feels great to get my first WTCR points on my first weekend as a full-time driver. Twenty-first to 14th in one lap and then finishing 11th; very good. I picked up some splitter damage on the first lap, but it didn’t affect my race and I could make some good progress. This is my first time in Marrakech and it was quite a tough weekend learning the track and driving in what is the highest-level competition I’ve ever experienced, but we have finished well and I will take this into the Hungaroring, where we should do better.”

KCMG
Dominik Greiner

Dominik Greiner

Team Manager

“This has been a very good weekend for the team and I’m very happy. We've only really been in this structure, with Esteban and Bebu working with their new engineers, for a few weeks, so to come off the first weekend of the season leading the Teams’ Championship, with six top-10 finishes out of six, and two podiums, is really something very special. This is an extremely good position to build on and we will now go to Hungary with high expectations.”

ALL-INKL.COM Münnich Motorsport
Dario d’Esposito

Dario d'Esposito

Team Principal

“The results were not what we expected after a very good qualifying, but that’s racing. It’s fantastic to see Tiago back as the same driver we knew before his injuries and his qualifying speed was excellent. He stayed cautious in Race Two, but in Race Three he was a victim when three wouldn’t go into one. When you see 25 cars within a second in Q1, you see how tough the competition is here so for Attila to miss Q2 by only 0.2s was not bad. He made an excellent start to Race Three, avoided the chaos and finished 11th, which is a very good result at a new track for him.”

KCMG
Mads Fischer

Mads Fischer

TCR Project Leader, JAS Motorsport

“One round down and the Civic Type R TCR has helped ALL-INKL.COM Munnich Motorsport to lead the Teams’ points, which is fantastic. They have done a fantastic job this weekend and Esteban and Bebu have been very consistent. KCMG, who have not been here before in Marrakech, have also been very strong and were unfortunate not to get the results they deserved after qualifying. I must also congratulate WSC for creating a Balance of Performance that has put most of the brands here very close together on laptime, and I look forward to that continuing in Hungary.”

JAS Motorsport
WTCR Race of Morocco

Circuit International Automobile Moulay el Hassan, Morocco

WTCR 2019, Round 1

Sunday 7 Apr 2019, 19:05 Europe/London
# Driver Num Nationality Nat. Total Points Pts. Team Constructor Constr. Time/Gap
1 Thed Björk 11 SWE 25 0 Cyan Racing Lynk & Co Lynk & Co 23 laps
2 Frederic Vervisch 22 BEL 20 0 Comtoyou Team Audi Sport Audi +0.680
3 Mikel Azcona 96 SPA 16 0 PWR Racing Cupra +3.039
4 Esteban Guerrieri 86 ARG 13 0 ALL-INKL.COM Münnich Motorsport Honda +6.182
5 Gabriele Tarquini 1 ITA 11 0 BRC Hyundai N Squadra Corse Hyundai +10.174
6 Nestor Girolami 29 ARG 10 0 ALL-INKL.COM Münnich Motorsport Honda +12.127
7 Gordon Shedden 52 GBR 9 0 Leopard Racing Team Audi Sport Audi +14.725
8 Norbert Michelisz 5 HUN 8 0 BRC Hyundai N Squadra Corse Hyundai +15.455
9 Qing Hua Ma 55 CHN 7 0 Mulsanne Srl Alfa Romeo +16.128
10 Daniel Haglof 37 SWE 6 0 PWR Racing Cupra +17.233
11 Attila Tassi 9 HUN 5 0 KCMG Honda +20.473
12 Mehdi Bennani 25 MAR 4 0 Sébastien Loeb Racing Volkswagen Motorsport Volkswagen +20.773
13 Andy Priaulx 111 GBR 3 0 Cyan Performance Lynk & Co Lynk & Co +21.143
14 Tom Coronel 50 NDL 2 0 Comtoyou DHL Team Cupra Racing Cupra +21.725
15 Rob Huff 12 GBR 1 0 Sébastien Loeb Racing Volkswagen Motorsport Volkswagen +22.785
16 Kevin Ceccon 31 ITA 0 0 Mulsanne Srl Alfa Romeo +23.307
17 Johan Kristoffersson 14 SWE 0 0 Sébastien Loeb Racing Volkswagen Volkswagen +23.780
18 Niels Langeveld 10 NDL 0 0 Comtoyou Team Audi Sport Audi +24.829
19 Aurélien Panis 21 FRA 0 0 Comtoyou DHL Team Cupra Racing Audi +26.067
20 Benjamin Leuchter 33 GER 0 0 Sébastien Loeb Racing Volkswagen Volkswagen +27.895
NC Jean-Karl Vernay 69 FRA 0 0 Leopard Racing Team Audi Sport Audi +DNF
NC Yvan Muller 100 FRA 0 0 Cyan Racing Lynk & Co Lynk & Co +DNF
NC Augusto Farfus 8 BRA 0 0 BRC Hyundai N LUKOIL Racing Team Hyundai +DNF
NC Tiago Monteiro 18 POR 0 0 KCMG Honda +DNF
NC Yann Ehrlacher 68 FRA 0 0 Cyan Performance Lynk & Co Lynk & Co +DNF
NC Nick Catsburg 88 NDL 0 0 BRC Hyundai N LUKOIL Racing Team Hyundai +DNS
Sunday 7 Apr 2019, 17:24 Europe/London
# Driver Num Nationality Nat. Total Points Pts. Team Constructor Constr. Time/Gap
1 Gabriele Tarquini 1 ITA 25 0 BRC Hyundai N Squadra Corse Hyundai 20 laps
2 Jean-Karl Vernay 69 FRA 20 0 Leopard Racing Team Audi Sport Audi +3.317
3 Yann Ehrlacher 68 FRA 16 0 Cyan Performance Lynk & Co Lynk & Co +3.991
4 Esteban Guerrieri 86 ARG 13 0 ALL-INKL.COM Münnich Motorsport Honda +4.514
5 Mikel Azcona 96 SPA 11 0 PWR Racing Cupra +4.669
6 Thed Björk 11 SWE 10 0 Cyan Racing Lynk & Co Lynk & Co +7.064
7 Yvan Muller 100 FRA 9 0 Cyan Racing Lynk & Co Lynk & Co +8.197
8 Tiago Monteiro 18 POR 8 0 KCMG Honda +8.496
9 Frederic Vervisch 22 BEL 7 0 Comtoyou Team Audi Sport Audi +8.895
10 Nestor Girolami 29 ARG 6 0 ALL-INKL.COM Münnich Motorsport Honda +9.439
11 Augusto Farfus 8 BRA 5 0 BRC Hyundai N LUKOIL Racing Team Hyundai +9.870
12 Norbert Michelisz 5 HUN 4 0 BRC Hyundai N Squadra Corse Hyundai +11.109
13 Andy Priaulx 111 GBR 3 0 Cyan Performance Lynk & Co Lynk & Co +12.081
14 Tom Coronel 50 NDL 2 0 Comtoyou DHL Team Cupra Racing Cupra +12.703
15 Gordon Shedden 52 GBR 1 0 Leopard Racing Team Audi Sport Audi +13.109
16 Daniel Haglof 37 SWE 0 0 PWR Racing Cupra +13.659
17 Johan Kristoffersson 14 SWE 0 0 Sébastien Loeb Racing Volkswagen Volkswagen +14.126
18 Niels Langeveld 10 NDL 0 0 Comtoyou Team Audi Sport Audi +14.831
19 Kevin Ceccon 31 ITA 0 0 Mulsanne Srl Alfa Romeo +15.184
20 Attila Tassi 9 HUN 0 0 KCMG Honda +16.358
21 Aurélien Panis 21 FRA 0 0 Comtoyou DHL Team Cupra Racing Audi +16.796
22 Rob Huff 12 GBR 0 0 Sébastien Loeb Racing Volkswagen Motorsport Volkswagen +17.440
23 Benjamin Leuchter 33 GER 0 0 Sébastien Loeb Racing Volkswagen Volkswagen +18.209
24 Qing Hua Ma 55 CHN 0 0 Mulsanne Srl Alfa Romeo +DNF
25 Mehdi Bennani 25 MAR 0 0 Sébastien Loeb Racing Volkswagen Motorsport Volkswagen +NC
26 Nick Catsburg 88 NDL 0 0 BRC Hyundai N LUKOIL Racing Team Hyundai +DNF
Sunday 7 Apr 2019, 12:27 Europe/London
# Driver Num Nationality Nat. Total Team Constructor Constr. Time/Gap
1 Frederic Vervisch 22 BEL 5 Comtoyou Team Audi Sport Audi 1:24.721
2 Yvan Muller 100 FRA 4 Cyan Racing Lynk & Co Lynk & Co +1:25.091
3 Thed Björk 11 SWE 3 Cyan Racing Lynk & Co Lynk & Co +1:25.224
4 Tiago Monteiro 18 POR 2 KCMG Honda +1:25.593
5 Mikel Azcona 96 SPA 1 PWR Racing Cupra +1:25.639
6 Yann Ehrlacher 68 FRA 0 Cyan Performance Lynk & Co Lynk & Co +1:24.919
7 Esteban Guerrieri 86 ARG 0 ALL-INKL.COM Münnich Motorsport Honda +1:24.930
8 Jean-Karl Vernay 69 FRA 0 Leopard Racing Team Audi Sport Audi +1:24.964
9 Gabriele Tarquini 1 ITA 0 BRC Hyundai N Squadra Corse Hyundai +1:24.997
10 Nick Catsburg 88 NDL 0 BRC Hyundai N LUKOIL Racing Team Hyundai +1:25.079
11 Nestor Girolami 29 ARG 0 ALL-INKL.COM Münnich Motorsport Honda +1:25.102
12 Gordon Shedden 52 GBR 0 Leopard Racing Team Audi Sport Audi +1:25.292
13 Qing Hua Ma 55 CHN 0 Mulsanne Srl Alfa Romeo +1:25.234
14 Augusto Farfus 8 BRA 0 BRC Hyundai N LUKOIL Racing Team Hyundai +1:25.270
15 Norbert Michelisz 5 HUN 0 BRC Hyundai N Squadra Corse Hyundai +1:25.238
16 Tom Coronel 50 NDL 0 Comtoyou DHL Team Cupra Racing Cupra +1:25.357
17 Andy Priaulx 111 GBR 0 Cyan Performance Lynk & Co Lynk & Co +1:25.397
18 Daniel Haglof 37 SWE 0 PWR Racing Cupra +1:25.438
19 Rob Huff 12 GBR 0 Sébastien Loeb Racing Volkswagen Motorsport Volkswagen +1:25.463
20 Kevin Ceccon 31 ITA 0 Mulsanne Srl Alfa Romeo +1:25.475
21 Niels Langeveld 10 NDL 0 Comtoyou Team Audi Sport Audi +1:25.486
22 Attila Tassi 9 HUN 0 KCMG Honda +1:25.588
23 Mehdi Bennani 25 MAR 0 Sébastien Loeb Racing Volkswagen Motorsport Volkswagen +1:25.679
24 Johan Kristoffersson 14 SWE 0 Sébastien Loeb Racing Volkswagen Volkswagen +1:25.693
25 Benjamin Leuchter 33 GER 0 Sébastien Loeb Racing Volkswagen Volkswagen +1:26.111
26 Aurélien Panis 21 FRA 0 Comtoyou DHL Team Cupra Racing Audi +1:28.211
Saturday 6 Apr 2019, 18:44 Europe/London
# Driver Num Nationality Nat. Total Points Pts. Team Constructor Constr. Time/Gap
1 Esteban Guerrieri 86 ARG 25 0 ALL-INKL.COM Münnich Motorsport Honda 26:18.829
2 Thed Björk 11 SWE 20 0 Cyan Racing Lynk & Co Lynk & Co +0.638
3 Nestor Girolami 29 ARG 16 0 ALL-INKL.COM Münnich Motorsport Honda +1.543
4 Gabriele Tarquini 1 ITA 13 0 BRC Hyundai N Squadra Corse Hyundai +2.965
5 Andy Priaulx 111 GBR 11 0 Cyan Performance Lynk & Co Lynk & Co +4.298
6 Tiago Monteiro 18 POR 10 0 KCMG Honda +4.973
7 Jean-Karl Vernay 69 FRA 9 0 Leopard Racing Team Audi Sport Audi +5.805
8 Yann Ehrlacher 68 FRA 8 0 Cyan Performance Lynk & Co Lynk & Co +11.855
9 Kevin Ceccon 31 ITA 7 0 Mulsanne Srl Alfa Romeo +13.049
10 Nick Catsburg 88 NDL 6 0 BRC Hyundai N LUKOIL Racing Team Hyundai +13.693
11 Norbert Michelisz 5 HUN 5 0 BRC Hyundai N Squadra Corse Hyundai +14.907
12 Rob Huff 12 GBR 4 0 Sébastien Loeb Racing Volkswagen Motorsport Volkswagen +15.439
13 Augusto Farfus 8 BRA 3 0 BRC Hyundai N LUKOIL Racing Team Hyundai +16.253
14 Gordon Shedden 52 GBR 2 0 Leopard Racing Team Audi Sport Audi +16.936
15 Mikel Azcona 96 SPA 1 0 PWR Racing Cupra +17.304
16 Benjamin Leuchter 33 GER 0 0 Sébastien Loeb Racing Volkswagen Volkswagen +20.688
17 Frederic Vervisch 22 BEL 0 0 Comtoyou Team Audi Sport Audi +25.860
18 Yvan Muller 100 FRA 0 0 Cyan Racing Lynk & Co Lynk & Co +50.213
19 Attila Tassi 9 HUN 0 0 KCMG Honda +51.898
20 Daniel Haglof 37 SWE 0 0 PWR Racing Cupra +1:16.351
21 Niels Langeveld 10 NDL 0 0 Comtoyou Team Audi Sport Audi +DNF
22 Aurélien Panis 21 FRA 0 0 Comtoyou DHL Team Cupra Racing Audi +DNF
23 Qing Hua Ma 55 CHN 0 0 Mulsanne Srl Alfa Romeo +DNF
24 Johan Kristoffersson 14 SWE 0 0 Sébastien Loeb Racing Volkswagen Volkswagen +DNF
25 Mehdi Bennani 25 MAR 0 0 Sébastien Loeb Racing Volkswagen Motorsport Volkswagen +DNF
26 Tom Coronel 50 NDL 0 0 Comtoyou DHL Team Cupra Racing Cupra +DNF
Saturday 6 Apr 2019, 14:20 Europe/London
# Driver Num Nationality Nat. Total Team Constructor Constr. Time/Gap
1 Esteban Guerrieri 86 ARG 5 ALL-INKL.COM Münnich Motorsport Honda 1:24.773
2 Yvan Muller 100 FRA 4 Cyan Racing Lynk & Co Lynk & Co +1:25.012
3 Thed Björk 11 SWE 3 Cyan Racing Lynk & Co Lynk & Co +1:25.049
4 Nestor Girolami 29 ARG 2 ALL-INKL.COM Münnich Motorsport Honda +1:25.109
5 Andy Priaulx 111 GBR 1 Cyan Performance Lynk & Co Lynk & Co +1:25.138
6 Gabriele Tarquini 1 ITA 0 BRC Hyundai N Squadra Corse Hyundai +1:25.174
7 Jean-Karl Vernay 69 FRA 0 Leopard Racing Team Audi Sport Audi +1:25.177
8 Tiago Monteiro 18 POR 0 KCMG Honda +1:25.202
9 Yann Ehrlacher 68 FRA 0 Cyan Performance Lynk & Co Lynk & Co +1:25.221
10 Daniel Haglof 37 SWE 0 PWR Racing Cupra +1:25.227
11 Kevin Ceccon 31 ITA 0 Mulsanne Srl Alfa Romeo +1:25.234
12 Norbert Michelisz 5 HUN 0 BRC Hyundai N Squadra Corse Hyundai +1:25.235
13 Nick Catsburg 88 NDL 0 BRC Hyundai N LUKOIL Racing Team Hyundai +1:25.256
14 Mikel Azcona 96 SPA 0 PWR Racing Cupra +1:25.454
15 Aurélien Panis 21 FRA 0 Comtoyou DHL Team Cupra Racing Audi +1:25.504
16 Rob Huff 12 GBR 0 Sébastien Loeb Racing Volkswagen Motorsport Volkswagen +1:25.534
17 Augusto Farfus 8 BRA 0 BRC Hyundai N LUKOIL Racing Team Hyundai +1:25.539
18 Niels Langeveld 10 NDL 0 Comtoyou Team Audi Sport Audi +1:25.551
19 Tom Coronel 50 NDL 0 Comtoyou DHL Team Cupra Racing Cupra +1:25.589
20 Johan Kristoffersson 14 SWE 0 Sébastien Loeb Racing Volkswagen Volkswagen +1:25.685
21 Mehdi Bennani 25 MAR 0 Sébastien Loeb Racing Volkswagen Motorsport Volkswagen +1:25.690
22 Qing Hua Ma 55 CHN 0 Mulsanne Srl Alfa Romeo +1:25.822
23 Gordon Shedden 52 GBR 0 Leopard Racing Team Audi Sport Audi +1:25.918
24 Frederic Vervisch 22 BEL 0 Comtoyou Team Audi Sport Audi +1:26.019
25 Benjamin Leuchter 33 GER 0 Sébastien Loeb Racing Volkswagen Volkswagen +1:26.510
26 Attila Tassi 9 HUN 0 KCMG Honda +1:26.522
Driver Standings
Sunday, 7 Apr 2019
# Driver Num Nationality Nat. Points Pts. Team Constructor Constr.
1 Thed BJöRK 11 SWE 61 Cyan Racing Lynk & Co Lynk & Co
2 Esteban GUERRIERI 86 ARG 56 ALL-INKL.COM Münnich Motorsport Honda
3 Gabriele TARQUINI 1 ITA 49 BRC Hyundai N Squadra Corse Hyundai
4 Nestor GIROLAMI 29 ARG 34 ALL-INKL.COM Münnich Motorsport Honda
5 Frederic VERVISCH 22 BEL 32 Comtoyou Team Audi Sport Audi
6 Jean-Karl VERNAY 69 FRA 29 Leopard Racing Team Audi Sport Audi
7 Mikel AZCONA 96 SPA 29 PWR Racing Cupra
8 Yann EHRLACHER 68 FRA 24 Cyan Performance Lynk & Co Lynk & Co
9 Tiago MONTEIRO 18 POR 20 KCMG Honda
10 Andy PRIAULX 111 GBR 18 Cyan Performance Lynk & Co Lynk & Co
11 Yvan MULLER 100 FRA 17 Cyan Racing Lynk & Co Lynk & Co
12 Norbert MICHELISZ 5 HUN 17 BRC Hyundai N Squadra Corse Hyundai
13 Gordon SHEDDEN 52 GBR 12 Leopard Racing Team Audi Sport Audi
14 Augusto FARFUS 8 BRA 8 BRC Hyundai N LUKOIL Racing Team Hyundai
15 Kevin CECCON 31 ITA 7 Mulsanne Srl Alfa Romeo
16 Qing Hua MA 55 CHN 7 Mulsanne Srl Alfa Romeo
17 Daniel HAGLOF 37 SWE 6 PWR Racing Cupra
18 Nick CATSBURG 88 NDL 6 BRC Hyundai N LUKOIL Racing Team Hyundai
19 Attila TASSI 9 HUN 5 KCMG Honda
20 Rob HUFF 12 GBR 5 Sébastien Loeb Racing Volkswagen Motorsport Volkswagen
21 Mehdi BENNANI 25 MAR 4 Sébastien Loeb Racing Volkswagen Motorsport Volkswagen
22 Tom CORONEL 50 NDL 4 Comtoyou DHL Team Cupra Racing Cupra
2019 WTCR Race of Morocco
Honda Pro Racing / David Noels
2019 WTCR Race of Morocco
Honda Pro Racing / David Noels
2019 WTCR Race of Morocco
Honda Pro Racing / David Noels
2019 WTCR Race of Morocco
Honda Pro Racing / David Noels