The second day of racing for the Kumho FIA TCR World Tour at Zhejiang Circuit turned in a thrilling rollercoaster run for the points leader Mikel Azcona.
Oct 25, 2026
The second day of racing for the Kumho FIA TCR World Tour at Zhejiang Circuit turned in a thrilling rollercoaster run for the points leader Mikel Azcona.
His victory in yesterday's Race 1 had given Hyundai's Spanish driver some breathing space over his closest competitor in the title fight, Geely's Cyan Racing Santiago Urrutia, whose gap had been extended to 33 points.
Then, today's Race 2 reshuffled the situation as Azcona made the wrong tyre choice for the track conditions and all of a sudden saw his lead shrunk to just 17 points.
A race in which Aurélien Comte put in an impressive performance, scoring another victory from the reversed grid, just like last week in Chengdu. The third one for the SP Compétition squad that often manage to take the most out of the Hyundai-Geely rivalry.
Then, Race 3 changed everything once again, as Azcona and Michelisz brought home another 1-2 for BRC Hyundai Squadra Corse, while Urrutia got the worst of a contact in the battle for the lead with his rival.
Azcna and Michelisz leave China as first and second in the standings; they are split by 33 points, with Urrutia - the only contender left - who finds himself six further points behind.
Now everything will be decided in Macau in three weeks, where Michelisz and Azcona will be carrying the heaviest compensation weights up and down the Guia Circuit
Championship points (full standings)
1. M. Azcona, 445 pts.; 2. N. Michelisz, 412; 3. S. Urrutia, 406
All pictures: WSC/Paddocker
Information and images: www.fiatcrworldtour.com
Race 2
Aurélien Comte wins the tyre lottery
With a drizzly weather and a wet track, most of the front runners went for a full set of rain tyres, but Yann Ehrlacher, Ma Qing Hua and Mikel Azcona who chose slicks at the front.
At the start, Jean-Karl Vernay from P2 led the field from Thed Björk, Aurélien Comte and Lo Sze Ho, with the pole sitter Diego Moran dropping to fifth. It was soon clear that the mixed tyre choice wouldn’t pay, as Azcona and the others dropped at the back.
In lap 2, Björk took the lead from Vernay and Norbert Michelisz overtook Santiago Urrutia for P6. One lap later, Comte passed his teammate and Michelisz moved up into fourth ahead of Moran and Lo. Comte overtook Björk for the lead in lap 5, while Michelisz kept on moving and passed Vernay in lap 6 and Björk in lap 9; Urrutia too progressed to fifth.
Up front, Comte had built a gap of more than five seconds, while Vernay tried to chase Björk who managed to keep him behind.
There were no further changes, Comte won from Michelisz, Björk, Vernay and Urrutia; Lo Sze Ho and Moran were classified sixth and seventh winning again the Guest Star Trophy and TCR Asia, while Azcona finished 14th.
Race 2 (full results)
1. Aurélien Comte (SP Compétition, CUPRA Leon VZ), 18 laps
2. Norbert Michelisz (BRC Hyundai N Squadra Corse, Hyundai Elantra N EV), 8.675
3. Thed Björk (Geely Cyan Racing, Geely Preface), 11.123
Quotes from the podium - Race 2
Aurelien Comte, 1st: “I had a fantastic start and a really good battle with Thed. We were side by side through the opening corners, and it was very close racing. Things became a little tricky with Diego ahead of me, and I lost some ground, but I managed to fight back. The car felt really good, and I'm very happy to take another victory, especially in such difficult conditions.”
Norbert Michelisz, 2nd: “I'm super happy. The car was working fine, but at the start of the race you didn't know if you were on the right tyres or not, so it was a bit of a gamble. This time I was on the right tyres. I took it easy at the standing start, tried to stay out of trouble and waited for my chances. I did my best to catch Aurélien, but he was just too fast. Towards the end I realised there was no chance to catch him, and I'm very happy to be collecting the points.”
Thed Björk, 3rd: “I had a pretty good start. For me, it was more of a consistent-pace race. From the beginning, that was the pace I had, and I just tried to keep it as good as possible. The car wasn't as good as yesterday, but it was very important to put the right tyres on. Some people didn't, and you're sitting there wondering how it's going to turn out. It was quite fun when you realised you were on the right tyres! I'm happy with the race and the points, but obviously it's always nicer to win.”
Race 3
The Azcona-Michelisz duo score another 1-2
The grid made from the points scored at the weekend saw Norbert Michelisz on pole ahead of Santiago Urrutia, Aurélien Comte, Mikel Azcona and Thed Björk. Urrutia made a better start and led the field, with Azcona and Michelisz behind. Comte went wide at T3 and rejoined making contact with Jean-Karl Vernay who went off and stopped in the gravel trap. The safety car was deployed and racing resumed in lap 4, with Comte serving a drive through for the collision with his teammate.
Two battles developed, one for the overall lead between Urrutia and Azcona, one for the Guest Star Trophy between Raymond Liu Weng Hin, Diego Moran, Lo Sze Ho and Bayern Yip Wai Hei. In lap 7, Azcona made a move on Urrutia, they clashed door-to-door and the Spaniard went through; then it was Michelisz who muscled his way past Urrutia who pitted for new tyres, while Björk began to chase the leading pair. The Guest Star Trophy leader Liu retired, and the fight was now between Moran and Lo once again.
Azcona built a small gap, with Michelisz behind making his car as wider as possible to defend from the Geely trio of Björk, Ma Qing Hua and Yann Ehrlacher who swapped places every now and then to apply the pressure on the Hungarian driver.
Michelisz wasn’t frightened and stubbornly held on to the second place, then in lap 17 Ma who doesn’t score for the Team’s championship dropped behind his teammates.
Azcona scored his second win of the weekend from Michelisz and Björk, while Moran slowed with a turbo issue and lost the Guest Star Trophy to Lo on the last lap, but retained the first place in TCR Asia.
Race 3 (full results)
1. Mikel Azcona (BRC Hyundai N Squadra Corse, Hyundai Elantra N EV), 19 laps
2. Norbert Michelisz (BRC Hyundai N Squadra Corse, Hyundai Elantra N EV), 1.327
3. Thed Björk (Geely Cyan Racing, Geely Preface), 2.596
Race 3
The Azcona-Michelisz duo score another 1-2
The grid made from the points scored at the weekend saw Norbert Michelisz on pole ahead of Santiago Urrutia, Aurélien Comte, Mikel Azcona and Thed Björk. Urrutia made a better start and led the field, with Azcona and Michelisz behind. Comte went wide at T3 and rejoined making contact with Jean-Karl Vernay who went off and stopped in the gravel trap. The safety car was deployed and racing resumed in lap 4, with Comte serving a drive through for the collision with his teammate.
Two battles developed, one for the overall lead between Urrutia and Azcona, one for the Guest Star Trophy between Raymond Liu Weng Hin, Diego Moran, Lo Sze Ho and Bayern Yip Wai Hei. In lap 7, Azcona made a move on Urrutia, they clashed door-to-door and the Spaniard went through; then it was Michelisz who muscled his way past Urrutia who pitted for new tyres, while Björk began to chase the leading pair. The Guest Star Trophy leader Liu retired, and the fight was now between Moran and Lo once again.
Azcona built a small gap, with Michelisz behind making his car as wider as possible to defend from the Geely trio of Björk, Ma Qing Hua and Yann Ehrlacher who swapped places every now and then to apply the pressure on the Hungarian driver.
Michelisz wasn’t frightened and stubbornly held on to the second place, then in lap 17 Ma who doesn’t score for the Team’s championship dropped behind his teammates.
Azcona scored his second win of the weekend from Michelisz and Björk, while Moran slowed with a turbo issue and lost the Guest Star Trophy to Lo on the last lap, but retained the first place in TCR Asia.
Race 3 (full results)
1. Mikel Azcona (BRC Hyundai N Squadra Corse, Hyundai Elantra N EV), 19 laps
2. Norbert Michelisz (BRC Hyundai N Squadra Corse, Hyundai Elantra N EV), 1.327
3. Thed Björk (Geely Cyan Racing, Geely Preface), 2.596
Quotes from the podium - Race 3
Mikel Azcona, 1st: “Santi was showing very good potential in sectors one and two, so I knew it was going to be difficult. He made a small mistake under braking, went completely wide and I had better momentum, so I went to the inside on the straight. I'm sorry for his puncture. I would have preferred to fight him on track, but that's racing. I'm very happy with this victory because Race 2 this morning was very bad for us. We made a mistake with the tyre choice, so it's great to finish the weekend on a high. After taking the lead, I just wanted to bring the car home.”
Norbert Michelisz, 2nd: "It wasn't like drinking espresso and smoking cigars inside the car! I did my best, and when I could see Mikel was struggling a little bit, I knew I had to do everything I could. It was a very intense fight, but a very enjoyable one. I think it was great for the audience. Finishing one-two today is a great result for the team. It was a fair, tough, proper touring car battle, and in the end we managed to bring the cars to the finish line.”
Thed Björk, 3rd: "Norbi did his work really well! I couldn't get the gap that I needed. I tried very hard, but he did a good job, really good job! It was a nice fight, and I'm happy to be on the podium again. I'm sorry for Santi. He really wanted to win and looked good from the beginning. Now, let's go to Macau and finish it there!”
Guest Star Trophy
Lo Sze Ho completes his first hat trick
Lo Sze Ho, at the wheel of the Evolve Racing-run Hyundai Elantra N has completed his first hat trick in the Guest Star Trophy.After winning it in yesterday's Race 1, finishing eighth overll, the driver from Hong Kong encored in Race 2 with his best place, sixth overall.
Then, thoughout the last race, he was desperately chasing Diego Moran until the Ecuadorian was forced to slow down on the last lap with a turbo issue, leaving the victory to Lo.
"That was a lucky race for me. I dropped almost to the very back after trying to avoid contact in front of me. Suddenly I lost all the grip and went outside. After the Safety Car I tried to catch up as much as I could. I tried very hard to hunt down Diego, but he did a good job. Then on the last lap, at the last corner, he had an engine failure, which was very unfortunate for him. But it was a good fight and a good race.”
TCR Asia
Moran wins three and is crowned champion
Diego Moran and his ATE Racing by DM23 Honda Civic FL5 completed their very successful campaign in TCR Asia, winning all the three races in the Zhejiang event. These results meant that the Ecuadorian driver was crowned champion even before the season finale in Macau.
Moran started Race 2 from the pole of the reversed grid and find himself racing against World Tour regulars Lo Sze Ho and Santiago Urrutia for the first half of the race before settling in the seventh position overall. Behind him, Raymond Liu Weng Hin kept the second place, while Euan Chan was fighting for the third position with Tony Chan Chi Wai and his own teammate Cheung, who later retired.
In the third race, Liu led Moran during the first few laps, but then retired, leaving Moran in a comfortable lead. The Ecuadorian moved up to sixth overall and first in the Guest Star Trophy, but on the last lap he slowed with a turbo failure and dropped behind Lo in the Trophy. Andy Liang Wenyao and Tony Chan Chi Way finished second and third.
Race 2
1. D. Moran (ATE Racing-DM23, Honda Civic FL5), 18 laps
2. R. Liu (MacPro Racing, Honda Civic FL5), 12.145
3. E. Chan (Team TRC, Honda Civic FL5), 21.834
Race 3
1. D. Moran (ATE Racing-DM23, Honda Civic FL5), 19 laps
2. A. Liang (Z.Speed, Hyundai Elantra N), 32.613
3. T. Chan (Norris Racing, Honda Civic FK5), 36.449
Championship points
1. D. Moran, 371 pts.; 2. E. Chan, 198; 3. W. Cheung, 164
TCR China
Richard Li wins Race 2 from P10 on the grid
Teamwork Motorsport's Richard Li Guag Hua completed a fantastic recovery from P10 on the grid to win TCR China's Race 2 at Zhejiang. It was his first victory of the season as he led Yang Zheng, while the freshly-crowned champion David Zhu Dai Wei completed the podium.
The key for Li's victory was his tyre choice, as he went for slick tyres at the front on a tarmac that began to dry halfway through the race.
The Lynk & Co cars have dominated the championship scoring ten race wins out of twelve, filling the top four places in the Drivers' standings, with Zhu followed by Jason Zhang Zhi Qiang, Sunny Wong Yat Shing and Richard Li.
Race 2
1. R. Li (Teamwork Motorsport, Lynk & Co 03+), 18 laps
2. Yang Z. (PAR by 300+, Lynk & Co 03+), 4.281
3. D. Zhu (Lynk & Co Teamwork, Lynk & Co 03+), 4.651
Championship points
1. D. Zhu, 6175 pts; 2. J. Zhang, 5285; 3. S. Wong, 4660
