Michelisz and Farfus fill the front row for Race 1

At the end of an eventful Qualifying session, Norbert Michelisz and Augusto Farfus made an-all Hyundai front row for WTCR’s Race 1 at Vila Real.
Michelisz snatched pole position posting a new TCR record lap of 1:59.498 that was fourth tenths faster than last year’s best Qualifying time.
The Hungarian driver topped the timesheet from the very beginning with a lap of 2:00.177 that was beaten by Rob Huff’s 2:00.005 midway through the 40-minute session. However, in the final moments, Michelisz set the fastest lap for good, while Farfus (1:59.797) and Yann Ehrlacher (1:59.905) moved up to second and third, dropping Huff to fourth ahead of Ma Qing Hua (2:00.075).
Current points leader Esteban Guerrieri qualified in a disappointing 19^th position.
The session was disrupted twice by the Full Course Yellow when Gabriele Tarquini and Nicky Catsburg hit and moved the tyre-stack in a chicane. They both had their fastest lap disallowed, but after quick repairs they rejoined and managed to qualify in 11^th and 6^th position respectively.
Kevin Ceccon set the 10^th fastest lap, but he will be demoted to 20^th due to a 10-position grid penalty because of receiving a third reprimand during the season.
Race 1 will start at 15:15 local time (16:15 CET).

Qualifying 1
1. 1:59.498 – Norbert Michelisz (BRC Squadra Corse, Hyundai i30 N)
2. 1:59.797 – Augusto Farfus (BRC Lukoil Racing, Hyundai i30 N)
3. 1:59.905 – Yann Ehrlacher (Cyan Racing, Lykn&Co 03)
4. 2:00.005 – Rob Huff (S. Loeb Racing, Volkswagen Golf GTI)
5. 2:00.075 – Ma Qing Hua (Team Mulsanne, Alfa Romeo Giulietta)

Championship points
1. Esteban Guerrieri 215 pts; 2. Michelisz 175; 3. Thed Björk 161