Norbert Michelisz has won his first pole position of the 2013 World Touring Car Championship season to give Honda a front-row start on home soil at this weekend’s round at the Suzuka East circuit.
The Hungarian moved into top spot during a tense final qualifying session by posting the weekend’s first sub-53-second lap time around the short 2.4-kilometre circuit on his one and only flying lap in Q2.
And when all of his chief rivals for top qualifying honours threw away their chances with mistakes or a marginal lack of pace, the Zengõ Motorsport driver was assured of pole position for Sunday’s opening 26-lap race.
Champion-elect Yvan Muller threw away his shot at pole position with a lurid slide as he hit Turn 1, while Gabriele Tarquini came undone with a trip through the Turn 3 gravel. Tarquini’s teammate Tiago Monteiro lost time in the middle sector.
That meant that Alex MacDowall and Tom Chilton were Michelisz’s closest challengers, with the former giving himself a front-row start in his Bamboo Chevrolet, ahead of RML teammates Tom Chilton and Muller.
MacDowall’s teammate James Nash and Tuenti Racing’s Pepe Oriola ensured five Chevrolets qualified in the top-seven, with the pair sandwiching Monteiro’s Honda on the timesheets.
Gabriele Tarquini – who is Yvan Muller’s sole championship rival – was eighth-fastest, and no doubt hoping that he will be on contention for a win in Race 2 when it translates into a second-row grid slot.
But the Italian will need to get ahead of the traditionally fast-starting BMWs of Tom Coronel and Mehdi Bennani, who were ninth- and tenth-fastest, which gives them the front row of the grid for Sunday’s second race. Coronel has a mighty record in Japan, and will be looking to claim his third win in his ‘adopted homeland’.
Fellow Brits Rob Huff and James Thompson made the top-twelve qualifying session as the sole SEAT and LADA runners in Q2, but neither was able to crack the top-ten, which gives them a sixth-row starting position for both races.
2013 FIA WTCC Race of Japan Q1 & Q2 Session Times:
Driver | Team | Q2 Time | YIT | |||
1. | Norbert Michelisz | ![]() |
Zengõ Motorsport Honda Civic WTCC | ![]() |
52.886 | |
2. | Alex MacDowall | ![]() |
Bamboo Chevrolet Cruze 1.6T | ![]() |
+ 0.125 | Y |
3. | Tom Chilton | ![]() |
RML Chevrolet Cruze 1.6T | ![]() |
+ 0.215 | |
4. | Yvan Muller | ![]() |
RML Chevrolet Cruze 1.6T | ![]() |
+ 0.233 | |
5. | James Nash | ![]() |
Bamboo Chevrolet Cruze 1.6T | ![]() |
+ 0.239 | Y |
6. | Tiago Monteiro | ![]() |
Castrol Honda Civic WTCC | ![]() |
+ 0.479 | |
7. | Pepe Oriola | ![]() |
Tuenti Racing Chevrolet Cruze 1.6T | ![]() |
+ 0.479 | Y |
8. | Gabriele Tarquini | ![]() |
Castrol Honda Civic WTCC | ![]() |
+ 0.493 | |
9. | Tom Coronel | ![]() |
ROAL Motorsport BMW 320TC | ![]() |
+ 0.546 | |
10. | Mehdi Bennani | ![]() |
Scuderia Proteam BMW 320TC | ![]() |
+ 0.580 | Y |
11. | Robert Huff | ![]() |
Münnich Motorsport SEAT León WTCC | ![]() |
+ 0.649 | |
12. | James Thompson | ![]() |
LADA Sport Granta | ![]() |
+ 0.762 | |
Q2 CUT-OFF: 53.711 | Q1 Time | |||||
13. | Charles Ka-Ki Ng | ![]() |
Liqui Moly Engstler BMW 320TC | ![]() |
53.733 | Y |
14. | Marc Basseng | ![]() |
Münnich Motorsport SEAT León WTCC | ![]() |
53.812 | |
15. | Takuya Izawa | ![]() |
JAS Honda Civic WTCC | ![]() |
53.827 | A |
16. | Fernando Monje | ![]() |
Campos Racing Team SEAT León WTCC | ![]() |
53.870 | Y |
17. | Hiroki Yoshimoto | ![]() |
NIKA Racing Chevrolet Cruze 1.6T | ![]() |
53.986 | Y/A |
18. | Stefano D’Aste | ![]() |
PB Sport BMW 320TC | ![]() |
53.991 | Y |
19. | Darryl O’Young | ![]() |
ROAL Motorsport BMW 320TC | ![]() |
54.027 | Y |
20. | René Münnich | ![]() |
Münnich Motorsport SEAT León WTCC | ![]() |
54.158 | Y |
21. | Masaki Kano | ![]() |
Liqui Moly Engstler BMW 320TC | ![]() |
54.263 | Y/A |
22. | Mikhail Kozlovskiy | ![]() |
LADA Sport Granta | ![]() |
54.292 | |
23. | Tom Boardman | ![]() |
Special Tune Racing SEAT León WTCC | ![]() |
54.395 | Y |
24. | Yukinori Taniguchi | ![]() |
Wiechers-Sport BMW 320TC | ![]() |
54.471 | Y/A |
25. | Jerónimo Badaraco | ![]() |
Son Veng Racing Chevrolet Cruze LT | ![]() |
55.257 | Y/A |
26. | Henry Ho Wai Kun | ![]() |
Liqui Moly Team Engstler BMW 320si | ![]() |
55.611 | Y/A |
27. | Filipe de Souza | ![]() |
China Dragon Chevrolet Cruze LT | ![]() |
55.672 | Y/A |
28. | Ng Kin Veng | ![]() |
China Dragon Chevrolet Cruze LT | ![]() |
56.103 | Y/A |
29. | Mak Ka Lok | ![]() |
RPM Racing BMW 320si | ![]() |
56.478 | Y/A |
The starting order for Race 1 is determined by the qualifying results indicated above, unless states otherwise. The ten-fastest drivers – as indicated by their Q2 fastest times – start in reverse starting order for Race 2, unless stated otherwise.
‘Y’ denotes Yokohama Independent Trophy entered driver
’A’ denotes Eurosport Asia Trophy entered driver
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Richard Bailey
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