Honda secured an 11th podium finish of the year and six points finishes out of six in challenging conditions at the sixth round of the FIA World Touring Car Championship at Moscow Raceway in Russia.
Norbert Michelisz, who had gone fifth fastest in qualifying, made a superb start to the main race and overtook two cars in as many laps to finish third in his Civic WTCC; the Hungarian managing his tyres perfectly on a damp, but drying, track surface to achieve the result.
Behind him, superb recovery drives from Castrol Honda World Touring Car Team-mates Rob Huff and Tiago Monteiro netted the pair fourth and fifth places after they started 11th and 10th on the grid.
A sudden rainshower during the opening race formation lap brought about a delayed start and a switch to wet tyres for the entire field.
In fully wet conditions, finding grip on the Moscow track surface proved difficult for all three drivers and Tiago was unable to capitalise on his reversed-grid pole position.
The Portuguese finished sixth with Rob right behind him; the pair proving the quickest drivers on the track during the race’s damp phase, but suffering with grip issues whenever fresh rain fell.
Norbert was running ahead of the pair when a drive-through penalty, issued for him starting slightly outside his grid box, dropped him to 12th. A hard charge during the second half of the race enabled him to climb to 10th – the final points-paying position – by the chequered flag.
The events of the weekend both on and off the track mean that the WTCC takes on a very different look. Tiago lies fourth in the drivers’ championship with Norbert seventh and Rob eighth; but only 15 points – the equivalent of a third-place finish – away from second overall. Honda maintained second place in the manufacturers’ championship.
The seventh round of the 2016 WTCC takes place on the streets of Vila Real, Portugal, on June 24-
26.
LADA SPORT ROSNEFT celebrate their greatest day with a double 1-2 result at the FIA WTCC Race of RussiaLADA SPORT ROSNEFT reaped the rewards of several years of participation in the FIA World Touring Car Championship with a sensational result at their home race in Moscow today (12th June 2016) with a sensational 1-2 result in both the Opening and Main races.The Russian team were absolutely dominant with a commanding display that saw Gabriele Tarquini bring his Lada Vesta TC1 across the line first closely followed by Nicky Catsburg in second position in the Opening race despite starting the reverse grid race in 9th and 10th places respectively. The team’s third driver Hugo Valente bringing his Vesta home in P4 for an incredible result for the team.The day’s Main race saw the trio start 1-2-3 on the grid and grasp the opportunity to capitalize with Catsburg and Tarquini never challenged from great starts as they pulled clear of the chasing pack to achieve the teams second 1-2 finish of the day, this time with Catsburg scoring his maiden win for the team.Extraordinarily this result puts the Dutchman in his first season of WTCC in second place in the World Drivers Championship the highest position ever held by a Lada driver since the outset of their participation in the Championship.The result was even more satisfying as it gave the chance to the home fans and the guests of Rosneft and Lada the chance to witness first hand the result of the team’s efforts with the fantastic support that they have provided.Victor Shapovalov who has masterminded Lada Sport’s campaign in the FIA WTCC said “This is a great day. To achieve a 1-2 result at our home event is incredible and to achieve it twice in just a dream result. This is the culmination of incredible hard work from the team and all that have supported the programme along the journey. LADA SPORT ROSNEFT have firmly arrived at the top of the WTCC on merit and I am immensely proud!”Nicky Catsburg, scoring his maiden WTCC pole position and victory this weekend and sitting 2nd in the World Championship standings “If you had told me one year ago that I would have got a P1 and P2 on the same day, in Moscow in the LADA SPORT ROSNEFT Vesta and been second place in the World Championship I would not have believed it. It is a dream result!”Gabriele Tarquini who had the privilege of achieving the first ever victory for the Vesta and was credited by his team mates for bringing the experience necessary to the team to achieve such a result “I spent a lot of time developing the Lada Vesta in Magny Cours in the winter in similar conditions and I suggested some changes that made a big difference. Unfortunately my team mate also used this to his advantage and was quicker than me in qualifying! I am very happy to have won today, especially from P9 on the grid. The car was fantastic and everybody did a great job. Who knows if it rains every weekend then we can fight for the Championship!”The team now hope to carry the momentum forward to the next round of the Championship in two weeks time on the streets of Vila Real, Portugal which will present and entirely different challenge for the Russian team.Hi-res photos are available here
https://www.flickr.com/photos/ladasportwtcc
LADA SPORT ROSNEFT is a racing team, participating in the World Touring Car Championship since 2015 with specially designed LADA Vesta WTCC cars. The General Sponsor of the team is a global energy company Rosneft. Supporting the Russian team in the World Championship, Rosneft together with the leader of the Russian automotive industry – LADA – joined their efforts to promote Russian brands at the world markets. |
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