
Despite the victory, the weekend has not been easy for Michelisz, who had several technical problems during the official practices that seemed to undermine his chances. But yesterday he managed to finish the first race, won by Rossi, after a strong battle against Fredy Barth and Massimiliano Pedalà, in seventh position. Thus he was able to start the second race from the front row of the grid, a fact he made perfect use of to take the final victory in an overwhelming way.
Born in Mohács (Hungary) on August 8th, 1984, he started to race in circuits in 2005, taking part in several single-make series. In 2006 he won the Suzuki Swift Cup and in 2007 the Renault Clio Cup. These victories earned him a place in the SEAT León Eurocup in 2008 where he achieved very good results. Four pole positions, one victory and a second position gave him the chance to have his debut in the WTCC at the Japanese circuit of Okayama at the wheel of a SEAT León WTCC.
"I´m very happy with this result – explained Norbert after the podium ceremony in Imola – because the team has been working very hard throughout the year. The truth is that the weekend started with several problems. I didn´t feel comfortable and I made some mistakes during qualifying. Therefore, my aim in the first race was scoring points for the second. Thanks to doing it I was able to clinch the victory and the title".
In the overall standings, Pedalà finished second and Barth third. As the overall victory of the Eurocup, Michelisz will be taking part in the European Touring Car Championship that will be held in the Portuguese racetrack of Braga on october 25th at the wheel of a SEAT León. As the winner of the Weekend in Imola, Michael Rossi, will take part in the first European race of the World Touring Car Championship in 2010, also at the wheel of a SEAT León WTCC.