Norbert Michelisz said it's best not to read too much into the practice times on Thursday, despite he and teammate Mikel Azcona topping both sessions at the Guia circuit.
Azcona led the way by over 1.2 seconds with a new tyre run right at the end of FP1, while Michelisz’s time was enough to keep him clear of championship leader Yann Ehrlacher by over half a second in a disrupted second session.
“We were on new tyres… and I think many people were compromised by the double yellow flags and then the red flag in the last ten minutes,” said Michelisz. “We were early with putting the new tyres on, so I don’t want to read too much into the results, as it can come from being slightly offset on the tyres. The car though feels good, I’m enjoying the balance, I think we still need to improve a few things tomorrow, but it’s been one of the easier starts to a race weekend we’ve had.”
Michelisz is a two-time race winner at Macau, and while for the first time in three years the Hungarian heads into the weekend not in contention for the title, he says he’s still feeling the pressure as he chases a potential third victory.
“There’s slightly less pressure, but there’s not a big difference, because from the moment you want to win the race the pressure then is there, and you don’t feel relaxed from Thursday morning right until the end of Race 2.”
Picture: WSC/Jun Qian Motorsport
