WTCC Trophy the place to be, says independent champion Michelisz

 05/02/2016 12:00 

Norbert Michelisz reckons his time spent racing as a privateer in the FIA World Touring Car Championship has equipped him with the skills necessary to cut it as a factory driver in the WTCC.

Honda signed Michelisz for its works WTCC effort after the Hungarian landed his second independent title in 2015, while LADA has followed suit by recruiting former privateer Hugo Valente for its factory squad after the French youngster impressed on a number of occasions.

Michelisz, who achieved his success with Zengő Motorsport, said: “I honestly believe the possibility to drive for a works team – or at least one part of it – was because I won the independent championship two times and if you are consistent enough as a driver to do that then you have the right amount of feeling of how to approach bigger situations.

“As a private driver you can learn a lot how to approach a race weekend, especially in a way that makes it possible to fight for the top positions, you learn a lot and the works teams realise what it takes to be one of the frontrunners among the independents because there is big competition.”

Mehdi Bennani, Tom Chilton and Grégoire Demoustier are among the drivers signed up for this year’s WTCC Trophy, the new name for the championship’s privateer category.

In:

https://www.fiawtcc.com/wtcc-trophy-the-place-to-be-says-independent-champion-michelisz/