In the second round of the Kumho TCR World Tour, held at Spa Francorchamps, Team BRC Hyundai N Squadra Corse achieved a solid podium finish with second place in Race 2.
After coming out of the opening round, at Portimao, leading the Team standings and as first and second driver in the overall standings, with Norbert Michelisz ahead of Mikel Azcona, the official Hyundai team secured another solid performance on the historic Ardennes circuit, bringing home important points for the World Championship.
In qualifying, the road initially seemed uphill due to the increased weight of the two cars, after their excellent performances in Portugal. Norbert started 8th for Race 1 while only 14th Mikel. During the first race of the weekend, the Hungarian got off to a good start, recovering one position on a rival who had stopped after the lights went out. Unfortunately, the entry of the Safety Car cancelled the advantage gained and Michelisz returned to eighth position, finishing the race as he had started and gaining important points for the classification.
Mikel started from the back due to an accident in the qualifying session and tried to make a comeback, but was involved in two other crashes, after which he finished in 21st position. With the SC he was then able to recover and move up to 16th, where he finished the first heat.
Race 2, on the other hand, saw Norbert start 3rd, thanks to the partially reversed grid from Race 1. The driver in the Elantra No. 105 was able to overtake his direct competitor at the first corner and after a long side-by-side along the iconic Eau Rouge he moved into second position. After that he concentrated on keeping a good pace that would allow him to bring home the podium, which he then achieved under the chequered flag, taking the silver step.
His team-mate started from eleventh place and battled throughout the race in the middle of the classification to try to climb as high as possible. On the penultimate lap the Spaniard took eighth position and held it until the end.
After the Belgian round Michelisz leads the drivers' standings with 94 points and Azcona is sixth at 67. The team with the points earned so far is in second position with 165 points. The next round will be in Italy at the Vallelunga circuit from 9 to 11 June.