EPIC WTCR RACES FROM 2019 REPLAYED ON EUROSPORT

Five epic races from the 2019 WTCR − FIA World Touring Car Cup will be replayed on Eurosport tomorrow (29 April).

From 11h30 CET, fans will be treated to a quintet of action-packed and highly entertaining races that will forever remain part of WTCR folklore.

Painstakingly selected from the list of 30 by the Eurosport Events team behind the WTCR, the five chosen races that Eurosport viewers will be able to savour are:

Race 2, WTCR Race of Hungary: Girolami fights through from sixth to win in slippery conditions
Race 1, WTCR Race of Slovakia: Vervisch gains eight places on opening lap then wins
Race 1, WTCR Race of Germany: Sensational slipstreaming on iconic Nürburgring Nordschleife
Race 2, WTCR Race of Macau: Muller, Guerrieri star in tense and strategic battle on the streets
Race 3, WTCR Race of Malaysia: The title decider that had everything goes down to the final lap

The races will be shown on Eurosport 1 on 29 April according to the schedule below. Once broadcast fans can select their favourite from the list of five via an online vote available on the WTCR’s official Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/WorldTouringCarCup/

Race 2, WTCR Race of Hungary: 11h30 CET
Race 1, WTCR Race of Slovakia: 12h00 CET
Race 1, WTCR Race of Germany: 12h30 CET
Race 2, WTCR Race of Macau: 13h00 CET
Race 3, WTCR Race of Malaysia: 13h30 CET

And here’s a reminder why these epic races were chosen:

Race 2, WTCR Race of Hungary: Girolami slides to enthralling epic
Néstor Girolami’s second win of the WTCR Race of Hungary weekend came after an unmissable Race 2, which featured door-to-door racing on a slippery track.

The ALL-INKL.COM Münnich Motorsport Honda driver came from sixth on the reverse grid to lead at the end of lap one, as endless action played out behind him with drivers scrabbling both for grip and track position.

Jean-Karl Vernay, who started from the DHL Pole Position, fought Girolami for victory, but settled for second ahead of Daniel Haglöf, who delivered a superb maiden podium having briefly led.

“Unbelievable – crazy race!” Girolami said at the time. “I knew it could be like this in these conditions. I decided to stick to slick tyres and really enjoyed the race.”

Rain before the start was the key to the action and the rate of attrition was high as a number of drivers failed to make the finish after contact.

Yvan Muller was not one of them, however, instead emerging from a train of cars in sixth, having started down in P15, with Rob Huff up from P11 on the grid to seventh at the flag. Both used all their experience to come through an intense 12 laps of action.

Race 1, WTCR Race of Slovakia: Vervisch rises from ninth to first
Frédéric Vervisch rose from ninth on the grid to win for Comtoyou Team Audi Sport, scything through to second by the end of the first lap before overtaking Team Mulsanne’s Ma Qinghua for victory.

“Great race, great result,” said Vervisch after his second WTCR career win. “The start was great, although I got hit from behind at Turn 3, but didn’t go off. Maybe I took more risks than the others.”

From the lights, Ma made a splendid start from the second row to drive through the middle of front-row starters Nicky Catsburg and Norbert Michelisz to take the lead, as Vervisch made up a fantastic eight places on the opening lap.

Racing resumed on lap four following a safety car intervention and Ma was forced to go on the defensive. Vervisch made a great move for the lead on lap five and was through. “Ma was quicker on the straights, but I was better in the corners,” said the winner.

As Vervisch opened a gap, Ma now faced attention from Michelisz, who worked hard to pass. But the Chinese driver held on to claim second, with Michelisz third and Jean-Karl Vernay fourth from seventh on the grid.

Race 1, WTCR Race of Germany: Sensational slipstreaming on the Nordschleife
BRC Hyundai N Squadra Corse driver Norbert Michelisz scored a measured Nürburgring Nordschleife win, passing DHL pole-sitter Esteben Guerrieri at the first turn.

From there Michelisz built a gap of over a second to ensure that the slippery Honda Civic Type R TCR couldn’t reel him in with a tow along the long Döttinger Höhe straight at the end of the lap. “My last couple of starts were pretty bad, so I guess one out of five, you can do it!” Michelisz said.

Behind, Guerrieri finished ahead of a titanic scrap over the final podium spot, which his ALL-INKL.COM Münnich Motorsport team-mate Néstor Girolami claimed after falling back early on.

Initially passed by Frédéric Vervisch on the opening lap, Girolami’s first run to retake third was stumped by a defensive Vervisch along the two-kilometre Döttinger Höhe straight.

With Girolami taking to the grass briefly and both slowing each other down as they jostled for position, both were surprised by Rob Huff’s SLR VW Motorsport machine, which slipstreamed both of them to take third, though Girolami did manage to overtake Vervisch’s Audi RS 3 LMS.

Girolami then managed to pass Huff on the final lap, going wheel-to-wheel down Döttinger Höhe.

Race 2, WTCR Race of Macau: Muller, Guerrieri star in tense and strategic street battle
The very nature of the legendary Circuito da Guia means drama is never in short supply in Macau. Race 2 had drama and more with a tense affair playing a decisive role in ensuring the WTCR title would be settled during a four-way decider at the Sepang super-finale the following month.

Yvan Muller followed up his Race 1 triumph by winning Race 2 from fifth on the grid, his path to victory eased by fellow Lynk & Co-powered drivers Yann Ehrlacher and Thed Björk offering zero resistance.  “I had a fantastic start, which is crucial here,” Muller said. “I knew if I wanted to win, I had to pass Guerrieri and Ceccon. And then Yann and Thed helped me big time.”

While Muller was winning out front, the focus switched to title fighter Esteban Guerrieri. With his Honda less potent on Macau’s challenging streets due to the latest Balance of Performance ruling, Guerreri had to be at his very best. Passing Ehrlacher at Lisboa was key but the manner in which he resisted a stern challenge from BRC Hyundai N LUKOIL Racing Team’s Nicky Catsburg was exemplary and fourth place was a fine reward for the Argentine.

Catsburg then dropped back to help fellow Hyundai i30 N TCR driver Norbert Michelisz into P10, which earned the Hungarian crucial points in his title quest.

Race 3, WTCR Race of Malaysia: The title decider that had everything goes down to the final lap
From the beginning, the two title protagonists were locked in a duel as they started from the front row of the grid. Norbert Michelisz, on the DHL Pole Position, just lost out at Turn 1 as Esteban Guerrieri swept around the outside line, pulling PWR Racing’s Mikel Azcona with him into second as the evening drama played out on a wet track under floodlights.

The trio were soon joined by the remarkable Johan Kristoffersson, from P22 on the grid, to make it a four-way battle and demote Michelisz another place, only for the safety car to be called upon on lap two as Augusto Farfus beached his Hyundai in the gravel.

Racing resumed on lap five as the top four put on an unforgettable spectacle. The key moment was a scrap between Guerrieri and Azcona, who tapped the Argentinian. The contact forced the Honda to briefly take to the grass − then Guerrieri reported he was “losing power”. Heartbreakingly, he dropped down the order, only to set the fastest lap of the race once the blockage had cleared.

Guerrieri’s loss meant Michelisz − who feared he wouldn’t make the start due to a technical issue on his Hyundai − was safe to claim the WTCR crown and he dropped to fifth. Ahead of him Kristoffersson and Azcona were joined by the Alfa Romeo Giulietta Veloce TCR of Team Mulsanne’s Kevin Ceccon for a new three-way fight.

Following another brief safety car interruption, the trio scrapped corner by corner until Kristoffersson took a decisive lead from Azcona with an inspired outside pass at the last corner on lap 11. Azcona chased him all the way to the chequered flag on lap 14, with Ceccon completing the podium ahead of Frédéric Vervisch and a relieved Michelisz.

However, a post-race penalty for the incident with Guerrieri, who won Race 2 from ninth on the grid, dropped Azcona to P14, one place ahead of Malaysian MotoGP star Hafizh Syahrin, who was competing as a wildcard entrant, and gave Vervisch third behind Ceccon.