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TCR World Tour completes final round before heading down under
The Kumho TCR World Tour is continuing to heat up ahead of its two blockbuster rounds at Sydney Motorsport Park and Mount Panorama as part of the Shannons SpeedSeries in November.
The popular series recently completed its final round before making its way down under, with Mikel Azcona and Nestor Girolami splitting the honours in the second leg of its South American tour in Argentina.
Azcona led a Hyundai one-two in the opening 25-minute affair, finishing more than one second ahead of new series leader, Norbert Michelisz.
In what was his first race win of the season, the reigning TCR World Tour Champion managed challenging conditions throughout to work his way up from third place, keeping his back-to-back title hopes alive.
“First victory of the season, it feels amazing to win here in the challenging conditions in Argentina,” Azcona said post-race.
“We had the slicks at the front and the wets on the rear, at the beginning it was full wet but by the end the track was getting better and better.
“The conditions were the most difficult so far this season, so we are very happy to have taken the win.”
The second-place finish didn’t come easy for Michelisz and his Hyundai N Squadra Corse team, with the Hungarian forced to hold off British ace, Rob Huff, who was within half a second of the former on the final lap.
Despite missing out on the place, Huff was able to power his Audi to yet another podium finish in race two, this time behind Girolami and China’s Ma Qing Hua.
The win was a major coup to Girolami’s title hopes, recovering from a difficult start to the weekend to take victory in his home country.
“It was incredible, it was so much more than what we expected before the start of the weekend,” Girolami said post-race.
“We had so many problems on Saturday, I couldn’t believe we were dealing with all these issues in my home race, but we were able to put everything together today and we did a fantastic job.
“I am very happy with the team and everyone who has supported us, this victory is for them.”
The two race winners now sit in fourth and fifth respectively in the title race with three rounds remaining, while Michelisz now leads the standings ahead of Frenchman, Yann Ehrlacher.
With the title race certain to go right down the wire, nine contenders have already been confirmed for the Australian rounds, with more expected in the coming weeks.
Those wishing to attend the upcoming TCR World Tour rounds in Australia can get a bang for their buck with the ‘City to the Mountain’ pass at motorsporttickets.com.au
The Kumho TCR World Tour will continue its 2023 season as part of the Shannons SpeedSeries Race Sydney on 3-4 November before returning to Mount Panorama on 10-12 November.