Honda’s Norbert Michelisz claimed his third pole position of the season in qualifying for the World Touring Car Championship in Japan, mastering the wet conditions at the Twin Ring Motegi to see off a challenge from Volvo’s Nicky Catsburg.
Michelisz – who also took pole in Motegi two years ago – was in imperious form in qualifying, at one stage being over a second faster than his nearest rival, before ending up with the top time by a margin of almost four tenths of a second.
Catsburg thus had to settle for second, ahead of team-mate Néstor Girolami in third, who was just under a second away from pole position.
Esteban Guerrieri made it two Hondas in Q3 on his début with the factory team, his impressive effort netting him fourth on the grid for the Main Race.
Another strong effort came from home hero Ryo Michigami, who made it through to Q3 for the first time in his WTCC career and ended up with fifth on the grid, also ensuring that all three Civics made it all the way through qualifying at Honda’s home circuit.
Championship leader Thed Björk ended the session sixth, the Volvo driver having been knocked out of Q3 by his own team-mate Girolami and thus denied championship points.
Mehdi Bennani was the leading Sébastien Loeb Racing driver in seventh, ahead of the lead LADA of RC Motorsport’s Yann Ehrlacher in eighth.
Completing the top ten, and forming the reverse-grid front row for the Opening Race, were the second SLR Citroën of Tom Chilton and RC Motorsport’s Kevin Gleason, the latter becoming the first American pole-sitter in WTCC history.
Zengő Motorsport’s Dániel Nagy enjoyed a strong session with the young Hungarian making his first Q2 appearance of the session to end up in 11th, ahead of the third SLR Citroën of John Filippi in 12th.
Münnich Motorsport’s Rob Huff just missed out on the cut-off for entry into Q2 after Nagy made a late improvement, making it just the second time this season that the Brit has failed to progress beyond the first qualifying session.
ROAL Motorsport’s Tom Coronel was also a driver to suffer in Q1, despite the Dutchman having been inside the top 12 until the final few minutes of the session. He will start from 14th on the grid for both races.
WTCC rookie Kris Richard put his Campos Racing Chevrolet in 15th, ahead of Zengő Motorsport’s Zsolt Szabó and RC Motorsport’s Filipe de Souza.
MAC3
In the manufacturers’ time trial, Honda claimed the bragging rights on home soil with a two-lap effort that was just over 2.5 seconds faster than the Volvo trio, claiming back crucial points in the manufacturers’ championship in the process following their pre-event disqualification from the results of the previous event in China.
Honda’s Ryo Michigami will start the Opening Race from the back of the grid due to an engine change penalty. The Opening Race is scheduled to begin at 14:15 local time (05:15 GMT, 06:15 CET).
Q3 results
POS | NO | CL | DRIVER | NAT | ENTRANT | CAR | LAPS | TIME | GAP |
1 | 5 | Norbert MICHELISZ | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Honda Racing Team JAS | Honda Civic WTCC | 3 | 2:08.890 | 0.000 | |
2 | 63 | Nicky CATSBURG | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Polestar Cyan Racing | Volvo S60 Polestar | 3 | 2:09.260 | 0.370 | |
3 | 61 | Néstor GIROLAMI | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Polestar Cyan Racing | Volvo S60 Polestar | 3 | 2:09.824 | 0.934 | |
4 | 86 | T | Esteban GUERRIERI | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Honda Racing Team JAS | Honda Civic WTCC | 3 | 2:10.091 | 1.201 |
5 | 34 | Ryo MICHIGAMI | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Honda Racing Team JAS | Honda Civic WTCC | 3 | 2:10.465 | 1.575 |
Q2 results
POS | NO | CL | DRIVER | NAT | ENTRANT | CAR | LAPS | TIME | GAP |
1 | 63 | Nicky CATSBURG | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Polestar Cyan Racing | Volvo S60 Polestar | 5 | 2:08.411 | 0.000 | |
2 | 5 | Norbert MICHELISZ | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Honda Racing Team JAS | Honda Civic WTCC | 5 | 2:08.979 | 0.568 | |
3 | 34 | Ryo MICHIGAMI | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Honda Racing Team JAS | Honda Civic WTCC | 5 | 2:09.382 | 0.971 | |
4 | 86 | T | Esteban GUERRIERI | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Honda Racing Team JAS | Honda Civic WTCC | 5 | 2:09.394 | 0.983 |
5 | 61 | Néstor GIROLAMI | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Polestar Cyan Racing | Volvo S60 Polestar | 5 | 2:09.513 | 1.102 | |
6 | 62 | Thed BJÖRK | ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Polestar Cyan Racing | Volvo S60 Polestar | 5 | 2:09.550 | 1.139 | |
7 | 25 | T | Mehdi BENNANI | ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Sébastien Loeb Racing | Citroën C-Elysée WTCC | 5 | 2:09.627 | 1.216 |
8 | 68 | T | Yann EHRLACHER | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
RC Motorsport | LADA Vesta WTCC | 4 | 2:10.059 | 1.648 |
9 | 3 | T | Tom CHILTON | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Sébastien Loeb Racing | Citroën C-Elysée WTCC | 4 | 2:10.271 | 1.860 |
10 | 24 | T | Kevin GLEASON | ![]() ![]() ![]() |
RC Motorsport | LADA Vesta WTCC | 4 | 2:10.599 | 2.188 |
11 | 99 | T | Dániel NAGY | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Zengő Motorsport Kft | Honda Civic WTCC | 4 | 2:10.604 | 2.193 |
12 | 27 | T | John FILIPPI | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Sébastien Loeb Racing | Citroën C-Elysée WTCC | 4 | 2:10.981 | 2.570 |
Q1 results
POS | NO | CL | DRIVER | NAT | ENTRANT | CAR | LAPS | TIME | GAP |
1 | 63 | Nicky CATSBURG | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Polestar Cyan Racing | Volvo S60 Polestar | 8 | 2:09.522 | 0.000 | |
2 | 5 | Norbert MICHELISZ | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Honda Racing Team JAS | Honda Civic WTCC | 5 | 2:09.984 | 0.462 | |
3 | 34 | Ryo MICHIGAMI | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Honda Racing Team JAS | Honda Civic WTCC | 8 | 2:10.027 | 0.505 | |
4 | 62 | Thed BJÖRK | ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Polestar Cyan Racing | Volvo S60 Polestar | 8 | 2:10.268 | 0.746 | |
5 | 3 | T | Tom CHILTON | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Sébastien Loeb Racing | Citroën C-Elysée WTCC | 8 | 2:10.380 | 0.858 |
6 | 86 | T | Esteban GUERRIERI | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Honda Racing Team JAS | Honda Civic WTCC | 5 | 2:10.465 | 0.943 |
7 | 25 | T | Mehdi BENNANI | ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Sébastien Loeb Racing | Citroën C-Elysée WTCC | 8 | 2:10.475 | 0.953 |
8 | 61 | Néstor GIROLAMI | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Polestar Cyan Racing | Volvo S60 Polestar | 8 | 2:10.739 | 1.217 | |
9 | 68 | T | Yann EHRLACHER | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
RC Motorsport | LADA Vesta WTCC | 8 | 2:10.891 | 1.369 |
10 | 99 | T | Dániel NAGY | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Zengő Motorsport Kft | Honda Civic WTCC | 8 | 2:11.059 | 1.537 |
11 | 24 | T | Kevin GLEASON | ![]() ![]() ![]() |
RC Motorsport | LADA Vesta WTCC | 9 | 2:11.066 | 1.544 |
12 | 27 | T | John FILIPPI | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Sébastien Loeb Racing | Citroën C-Elysée WTCC | 8 | 2:11.222 | 1.700 |
13 | 12 | T | Rob HUFF | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
ALL-INKL.COM Münnich Motorsport | Citroën C-Elysée WTCC | 9 | 2:11.879 | 2.357 |
14 | 9 | T | Tom CORONEL | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
ROAL Motorsport | Chevrolet RML Cruze TC1 | 8 | 2:11.944 | 2.422 |
15 | 11 | Kris RICHARD | ![]() ![]() |
Campos Racing | Chevrolet RML Cruze TC1 | 7 | 2:13.462 | 3.940 | |
16 | 66 | T | Zsolt Dávid SZABÓ | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Zengő Motorsport Kft | Honda Civic WTCC | 8 | 2:14.234 | 4.712 |
17 | 26 | T | Filipe Clemente DE SOUZA | ![]() ![]() |
RC Motorsport | LADA Vesta WTCC | 7 | 2:15.938 | 6.416 |