Appointment in Brazil at Interlagos for the BRC Racing Team

Brazil next for BRC Hyundai N Squadra Corse drivers Azcona, Girolami and Michelisz With one win and two podiums aboard his Elantra N TCR, Michelisz tops the Kumho FIA TCR World Tour standings by 22 points BRC Hyundai N Squadra Corse holds a 20-point advantage in the Teams’ title race after three rounds.  The Kumho FIA TCR World Tour will take BRC Hyundai N Squadra Corse from North to South America this week with the legendary Interlagos circuit in São Paulo, Brazil, preparing to host the fourth event of the season from July 19-21. BRC Hyundai squad will take to the Autódromo José Carlos Pace on a high on the back of a strong start to the year. Following last month’s stop at Mid-Ohio, USA, Norbert Michelisz heads the Kumho FIA TCR World Tour Drivers’ championship by 22 points, while BRC Hyundai N Squadra Corse holds a 20-point advantage in the Teams’ title table. Michelisz’s Hyundai-powered team-mates, Mikel Azcona and Néstor Girolami, are third and fifth in the standings respectively. In accordance with the Kumho FIA TCR World Tour regulations, Azcona will carry 40 kilograms of success ballast in Brazil as the best-scoring driver during the previous event. Michelisz will carry 30 kilograms, but Girolami is gearing up to start at Interlagos with zero additional weight in his Hyundai Elantra N TCR. As was the case at Mid-Ohio, Interlagos is an all-new venue for BRC Hyundai N Squadra Corse and the only current Formula One circuit on the calendar. It’s also the first part of a South American double-header with El Pinar’s Autódromo Victor Borrat Fabini in Uruguay up next from August 2-4, the second of two ‘home’ races for Girolami.  Team Principal of BRC Hyundai N Squadra Corse, Gabriele Rizzo, said: “Another new track for us and for the drivers, but a very famous one where we have seen a lot of drama and great show from Formula One in the past. This surely will unlock further interest and motivation among the team that has approached the event with the usual extreme humble and careful preparation to extract the maximum from the great Hyundai Elantra N TCR we are proud to run. Having two out of three cars with compensation weight on a circuit where CW impact on performance should be quite high, we should approach the event in damage limitation mode. It’s quite straightforward to say that we target to have Nestor, with no CW, in the fight for the top positions and will be mandatory for Norby and Mikel to qualify in the top10 to benefit from the reverse grid and be anyway in position to score good points.”  Driver Notes: #196 Mikel Azcona (ESP), Hyundai Elantra N TCR The highest-scoring driver at Mid-Ohio, Spaniard Azcona is third in the standings A Brazil win would be the first of 2024 for the Hyundai-powered star, who turned 28 last month  Azcona said: “Interlagos is a very famous track from Formula One and, as I was following Formula One since I was a kid, it’s going to be a dream come true to drive there. It will be a big challenge, especially because we will carry 40 kilograms in our Hyundai Elantra N TCR and there are lots of ups and downs and some long straights. There will also be some drivers from Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay, who will join the grid and will be really high level. This will make it really tight to get into the top 10 in qualifying when we can score important points. But I am super-confident and I believe in our performance, especially after our pole position at Mid-Ohio. A lot of the weekend will be about working with the team to compensate for our extra weight and minimise the damage, but we have a very good team and I’m feeling ready.” Driver Notes: #105 Norbert Michelisz (HUN), Hyundai Elantra N TCR The Kumho FIA TCR World Tour Drivers’ championship leader by 22 points after three rounds Returns to Brazil for the first time since he raced FIA World Touring Cars in Curitiba in 2012  Michelisz said: “Interlagos races are always very exciting to watch in Formula One and, from the outside, it looks like a very challenging circuit with a lot of elevation changes and slow and fast corners. It will be difficult to put a good lap together and find a good car set-up, particularly with the extra 30 kilograms we will carry. But it’s always nice to experience a demanding circuit like this and our Hyundai Elantra N TCR is a very good car. I’m also excited to go back to Brazil. The last time was in 2012 and I really enjoyed it. The season so far has been good. We’ve won races and we’re competitive. That’s always a nice feeling and I hope the momentum can be carried all the way to the end because the target has to be to fight for the title again. It won’t be an easy weekend, but I am still confident we can score good points.” Driver Notes: #129 Néstor Girolami (ARG), Hyundai Elantra N TCR Argentine driver targeting big points during ‘home’ race weekend Running with zero success ballast will boost his bid to catch championship leader Michelisz  Girolami said: “As a driver, racing at Formula One tracks is super-exciting and Interlagos is probably the best track in South America, if not the best ever. I always like tracks like this – fast, technical and a lot of ups and downs. For sure it will be a tough track for the drivers carrying extra kilos, but we are with zero kilos and I am really looking forward to having a great weekend and reducing the gap to the leaders by taking a lot of points in my Hyundai Elantra TCR. This is my target for Interlagos and I am very confident. It’s been super-nice to work with BRC and Hyundai Motorsport since I joined for this season. Norbi and Mikel have been super-helpful and super-kind, and there is always a lot of support from the team. We are close in the championship having scored a good average of points in every race. As a team, we are also very strong but we need to keep pushing, which we will do. I really hope we can get a good result for all the people in the team.” Weekend at a Glance*Free Practice 1 at the 4.309km Autódromo José Carlos Pace runs from 10:00-10:30 (06:00-06:30 GMT) on Saturday July 20 with Free Practice 2 from 12:30-13:00 (08:30-09:00 GMT). Both sessions will be followed by a maximum 10-minute practice start period.*Qualifying takes place later in the day from 15:00 (11:00 GMT). Q1 runs for 20 minutes with the fastest 12 drivers progressing to the 10-minute Q2 starting at 15:25 (11:25 GMT).*Race 1 is due to begin at 11:10 (07:10 GMT) on Sunday July 21 lasting approximately 28 minutes followed by Race 2 from 14:40 (10:40 GMT). That race will last approximately 33 minutes.*The Race 1 grid is decided by the Qualifying results with the top 10 from Race 1 lining up in reverse for Race 2.*In addition to BRC Hyundai N Squadra Corse drivers, 32 cars appear on the provisional entry list for the Interlagos weekend, round four of the 2024 Kumho FIA TCR World Tour.