Norbert Michelisz (Hyundai Elantra N) has been crowned champion of the 2024 FIA TCR World Tour after the last round of the season (Race 2) in Macau.
With a slim advantage over Thed Björk (Lynk & Co 03) after Björk’s win on Race 1, Michelisz knew that he could not put one foot wrong on the final race of the season.
Without a race to remember, Michelisz controlled his pace and stayed safe from problems, finishing the last race of the season in fifth but three places ahead of his title rival Björk, who finished the race in eighth.
In the final standings, Michelisz won by 11 points over Björk, with Mikel Azcona (Hyundai Elantra N) securing third place.
In a final race that got its start postponed due to the condition of the asphalt of Guia Circuit being battered by heavy rain yesterday morning, the Hondas of Dušan Borković, Esteban Guerrieri, and Marco Butti dominated, finishing 1-2-3.
Starting behind the safety car, this was a wet-to-dry race with some racers inclusively risking to go for slick tires, while the title contenders had a more conservative approach and started on wets.
Néstor Girolami (Hyundai Elantra N) also played an important role in Michelisz’s win by placing himself right at the back of his teammate to defend his back, while up front, the contenders for the China TCR title were making most of the expenses of the race.
In the end, Michelisz closed the championship with a total of 323 points, 11 points more than Björk, with Azcona scoring 295 points in total.
In TCR China, the winner was Martin Xie (Honda Civic Type R FL5), who finished ninth overall, while Martin Cao (Hyundai Elantra N) settled for 11th position, which was enough to secure him the title, as his contender Jason Zhang (Lynk & Co 03) stopped on the final lap.
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