Sepang WTCR: Michelisz closes on title with victory

The Hyundai driver cruised to a comfortable fifth victory of the season in changeable conditions to move more than a race win's worth of points clear of nearest rival Esteban Guerrieri.

Light rain as the cars headed to the grid gave teams a headache over which tyres to fit, particularly when that intensified, though most, including polesitter Michelisz, opted for a combination of slick front tyres and wet rears to deal with the slippery surface.

Officials decided to start the race behind the safety car, though this was called in at the end of the first lap - with Michelisz deciding to hit racing speed halfway down the back straight.

Michelisz duly gapped his nearest pursuer Aurelien Panis by two seconds in the opening laps, and would end up 2.446 seconds clear of the Comtoyou Cupra driver - who scored his first WTCR podium - at the end of the extended 10-lap race.

Gabriele Tarquini backed up BRC Racing teammate Michelisz's win by taking third, finishing a distant 7.563s behind Panis, ahead of Guerrieri.

On a dramatic opening lap, Guerrieri fought his way forward from ninth on the grid to seventh thanks to passes on Comtoyou Audi driver Frederic Vervisch and, after a tussle in the third sector, the Team Mulsanne Alfa Romeo of Ma Qing Hua.

The Argentinian then dived past Hyundai man Augusto Farfus at the first corner at the start of lap three, and past Nestor Girolami and Mikel Azcona - struggling for grip on full wet tyres - at the Turn 9 hairpin the following lap.

That was the extent of Guerrieri's progress, though the result did limit his loss to Michelisz and also moved him slightly further clear of Yvan Muller, who finished sixth.

Muller made even more impressive progress through the field from his 16th-place starting position, though his progress was thwarted by the KCMG Honda of Joao Paulo de Olivera.

The 2010 Formula Nippon champion advanced from 13th to finish fifth, setting the fastest lap in the process, though his wildcard status means he is ineligible for points.

That means Guerrieri sits 27 points behind Michelisz with two races remaining, with Muller - now the final remaining title contender after his Cyan Racing Lynk & Co teammate Thed Bjork was eliminated from contention - eight further back.

Race results:

Cla	#	Driver	Chassis	Laps	Gap
1	5	Norbert Michelisz	Hyundai	10
2	21	Aurelien Panis	CUPRA	10	2.446
3	1	Gabriele Tarquini	Hyundai	10	10.009
4	86	Esteban Guerrieri	Honda	10	10.878
5	38	Joao Paulo		10	11.287
6	100	Yvan Muller	Lynk & Co	10	12.125
7	37	Daniel Haglof	CUPRA	10	17.213
8	14	Johan Kristoffersson	Volkswagen	10	20.142
9	88	Nick Catsburg	Hyundai	10	31.331
10	69	Jean-Karl Vernay	Audi	10	31.772
11	111	Andy Priaulx	Lynk & Co	10	36.466
12	25	Mehdi Bennani	Volkswagen	10	37.211
13	9	Attila Tassi	Honda	10	40.633
14	68	Yann Ehrlacher	Lynk & Co	10	42.004
15	52	Gordon Shedden	Audi	10	43.183
16	33	Benjamin Leuchter	Volkswagen	10	45.377
17	96	Mikel Azcona	CUPRA	10	58.401
18	55	Ma Qing Hua	Alfa Romeo	10	1'00.734
19	27	Mitchell Cheah	Hyundai	10	1'03.709
20	31	Kevin Ceccon	Alfa Romeo	10	1'05.014
21	10	Niels Langeveld	Audi	10	1'07.607
22	29	Nestor Girolami	Honda	10	1'10.078
23	12	Rob Huff	Volkswagen	10	1'17.382
24	50	Tom Coronel	CUPRA	10	1'20.508
25	15	Hafizh Syahrin	Hyundai	10	1'24.275
26	65	Douglas Khoo Koh Hui	CUPRA	10	1'36.373
27	11	Thed Björk	Lynk & Co	10	2'02.312
28	8	Augusto Farfus	Hyundai	10	2'22.601
	18	Tiago Monteiro	Honda	6
	22	Frederic Vervisch	Audi	2
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