Rounds nineteen and twenty of the 2011 FIA World Touring Car Championship take place this weekend (22/23 October), and for Norbert Michelisz and the Zengo-Dension Team, it marks the start of the final push for 2011 glory.
The Japanese round of the WTCC in 2008 marked Michelisz’s debut and in the opening race of 2010, he inherited a podium finish in his SEAT Leon TDi.
For 2011, the whole field faces a new challenge as the series moves from Okayama to the venue for the Japanese Formula One Grand Prix, Suzuka. The whole 5.8km circuit won’t be used however, the WTCC will race on the shorter 2.2km Suzuka East configuration.
For Michelisz, the trip to Suzuka marks a circuit he has always wanted to race at. He arrives in Japan eighth in the overall Championship standings while sitting second in the Yokohama Independents’ Trophy.
“It is one of my favourite circuits. Like we have seen in Formula One, usually the most interesting races of the seasons are held here and I think it won’t be different in the WTCC either,” explained Michelisz.
“Unfortunately we won’t be using its full length but Suzuka is a circuit where I always wanted to drive beside Spa. Not only because its layout but the memories of the duel between Senna and Prost are also tempting me. The high average speed might favour BMW and I expect to have a significant wear rate on the front-left tyre. It is likely that we will be able to overtake at the end of the start-finish straight.”
This weekend will see all of the BMW 320TC drivers running with an extra 20kgs over their base weight due to their performances in the last three race weekends, while the heaviest car on the grid will once again be the Chevrolet Cruze.
Suzuka Weekend Schedule: (All Times BST)
Friday 21 October:
06.00 – 06.30, Testing
Saturday, 22 October:
Practice 1: 01.30 – 02.00
Practice 2: 03.45 – 04.15
Qualifying 1: 07.30 – 07.50
Qualifying 2: 07.55 – 08.05
Sunday, 23 October:
Race 1: 06.35 – 07.00
Race 2: 07.50 – 08.15
Both races will be shown live on Eurosport while Qualifying and Sunday warm-up will be shown on Eurosport.