Nagy and Michelisz on pole at the Slovakia Ring, favorites behind

You had to show the Hungarian flag on your car to collect a pole position on Saturday afternoon at the Slovakia Ring (Slovakia). The second qualifying session of the World Touring Car Cup (WTCR) weekend saw Norbert nagy (Cupra) and Norbert Michelisz (Hyundai) to take pole for Race 2 (start Saturday at 19 p.m.) and Race 3 (Sunday 11:45 a.m.).

Norbert Nagy scored his first pole at world level thanks to the reverse grid principle. During Q2, the ten best times were taken in reverse order in order to establish the lines for Race 2. The Hungarian, European touring vice-champion in 2017, therefore achieved the 10th time. He will have at his side the winner of Race 1 Gabriele Tarquini (Hyundai, 9th time) and behind him the beginner Benjamin Lessennes (Honda, 8th time).

Well done @zengomotorsport #NorbertNagy Pole for reverse pic.twitter.com/bOxQ2ALptz

— FIA WTCR / Oscaro (@FIA_WTCR) July 14, 2018

As for Norbert Michelisz, his pole was acquired at the end of Q3, where the five best drivers each had one lap to prove themselves. The best Frenchman of this session is again Aurélien Comte (Peugeot ), second with the DG Sport Compétition team. Esteban Guerrieri (Honda) will start from third place.

Norbert @Michelisz bags the 5 points for pole position from @FIA_WTCR Qualifying 2 for the i30 N TCR and the @BRCGasEquipment team. @YvanMuller, meanwhile, adds two points to his championship lead with the fourth best time from the session. pic.twitter.com/HNW047iVgi

— Hyundai Motorsport (@HMSGOfficial) July 14, 2018

Apart from Gabriele Tarquini and Yvan muller (Hyundai, 7th and 4th), the favorites for the title were absent. Jean-Karl Vernay (Audi), Yann Ehrlacher (Honda) and Thed Björk (Hyundai) missed the top 10, in a very compact peloton (in Q1, the first 17 were separated by less than a second). The French will start 12th and 13th, and the Swede 19th.

WTCR Qualifying 2 standings at the Slovakia Ring