Michelisz, first winner of the 2026 season

Norbert Michelisz immediately found the right words at the end of the race to thank Mikel Azcona for giving him the opportunity right at the start of the second lap. Faster on the track, the two-time TCR World Tour winner explained that the team's strategy was to quickly let whichever of the two drivers showed the best pace pull away. The Hungarian driver, with a mischievous grin, added: "Every point counts; we know this is our only option against these four blue cars."

Regarding those famous blue cars, Yann Ehrlacher finished third in this round after seriously challenging Azcona for second place. If the Frenchman needed reassurance about his fitness and the potential of his car, he certainly got it. He finished ahead of Urrutia and Björk, the latter having successfully resisted the attacks of a dazzling Aurélien Comte at the wheel of his SP Compétition Cupra.

The other driver who put on a show in this round was the returning Jean-Karl Vernay, Comte's teammate. Starting from 13th place, he climbed all the way to 10th with impressive overtaking maneuvers for a driver who hadn't raced a touring car since 2022.

There's one race left to run at Misano. So, see you this Sunday morning from 10:50 am.

race 1 results