Macau – Race 1: Björk wins and closes in on Michelisz

In the pure tradition of touring races in the streets of the ancient Portuguese city, the start was tumultuous. The problems began in the first few meters of the race when Qing Hua Ma, the Chinese driver of Cyan Racing- Lynk & Co, stalled as soon as the lights went out. His car was hit by a competitor from the Chinese championship.

For the leaders led by a flamboyant Thed Björk, everything went relatively well until the braking at Lisboa. Esteban Guerrieri (Honda Civic Type-R) attacks Yann Ehrlacher (Lynk&Co 03) for fourth place, but the Argentinian is too slow on his braking. When he returns to the track he is the victim of a collision with the drivers who cannot avoid the South American's Honda. Dusan Borkovic (Honda Civic Type-R) sends Guerrieri's car into a spin. The latter is too damaged, it is the end of the race for him but also of his chances for the championship. 

Mayhem at the exit of Lisboa corner 😱
Lap 1 of the TCR World Tour and already a huge pile up. The track is dry but the margin for error remains very quiet in Macau… #FIA #MacauGP #TCR pic.twitter.com/xDfAPOympp

- FIA (@fia) November 16, 2024

Björk controls Hyundai drivers

The race was interrupted by the red flag, the time to evacuate the obstructed track and repair the damaged rails at the San Francisco bend. When the race was restarted, Thed Björk managed to contain the ambitions of the Korean brand's drivers. Very cleverly, Azcona, who knew his chances of the title were low, opened the door to Norbert Michelisz who took second place in the wake of the Swede. Yann Ehrlacher was 4th under threat from Nestor Girolami. The race was not interrupted again until the checkered flag. The great comeback was to the credit of Rob Huff (Audi RS3 LMS) from 15th to 6th place. Björk won ahead of Michelisz and Azcona. 

Everything should be decided in the final race of the season. Norbert Michelisz is now only 5 points ahead of Thed Björk but he will start in front of the Lynk & Co driver in Sunday's race. The Swede is currently enjoying his 3rd victory of the season which gives the title to his Cyan Racing team. Mathematically, Yann Ehrlacher and Mikel Azcona can still hope to take the crown but it will take a miracle to see this scenario unfold.

Join us on Sunday morning around 4:00 a.m. French time to find out the 2024 TCR World Tour champion. 

TCR World Tour – Macau
Race 1 – Ranking