Rivals Bjork, Michelisz calm ahead of title showdown

‘If we were really crazy and took out each other on the first lap, then I think we’d be handing the championship to others’There was such nice camaraderie between Thed Bjork and Norbert Michelisz yesterday that it was easy to forget that the two will go all out against each other tonight for the 2017 World Touring Car Championship title.The WTCC title race has come right down to wire, with the tensions brewing in both the Polestar Cyan Racing and Honda team camps, ahead of the Qatar round of WTCC at the Losail International Circuit tonight.But the drivers seemed to be quite chilled out, refusing to play the mind games and are expecting a fair fight. Going into the final round of the season, Bjork leads Michelisz by just 6.5 points. What adds spice to the contest is that there are still six drivers who can win the championship, mathematically at least.With 60 points available in Qatar, Sebastian Loeb Racing’s Mehdi Bennani and Tom Chilton are also in the running, 39.5 and 45 points behind the leader respectively. While Michelisz and Bjork’s teammates Esteban Guerrieri and Nicky Catsburg are also in hypothetical contention.But the spotlight has been on Bjork and Michelisz quite naturally. The two are in the best possible scenario to win the title and are determined to fight it fair till the last corner. There was quite a bit of banter between the two at the press conference yesterday, as the other drivers – Bennani, Chilton and Rob Huff – joined in the fun too. As the two title contenders praised each other, Munnich Motorsport driver Huff chipped in: “It would be much more fun if you hated each other. Why are you both so nice?”When Bjork and Michelisz were asked if they would like to send a special message to each other like the boxers do before a big fight, Chilton remarked: “Don’t stall on the start line!”Bjork did try to join the banter, when he said: “I would like to have a nice fight with him. He’s a bit angry on the track so I hope he can keep it under control!” But Michelisz would have none of it and said: “I would say it’s not a shame to come second in the end!” To which Bjork responded: “It’s not so bad, I agree.”It was remarkable how Bjork and Michelisz handled themselves before the biggest night of their careers. On a serious note, both the drivers said they would approach tonight’s race in the same way they have done all season.For Michelisz the strategy has worked wonderfully well so far, with the Hungarian counting himself out of contention after his home race back in May. But wins in Portugal, Argentina and Japan has turned his season around.“Of course, there is a bit of extra excitement, but so far, it’s like a usual race weekend,” said Michelisz. “We just have free practice sessions today, so there’s not really much at stake right now. I’m really just focussed on the job of being well prepared for tomorrow. Right now, I feel strong and confident; I feel like there’s nothing to lose in the championship really, I’ve always been trying to catch up. Just three races ago in Japan I was more than 30 points behind, now it’s 6.5, so I’ll just try to carry this momentum through the weekend,” the 33-year-old, who drives Honda Civic, added.Michelisz reckons playing catch-up puts him in a better position than Bjork. “My target is not to look at what others are doing,” he said. “I’m not approaching the race weekend with the thought of winning the championship; I just want to do my best regardless of the points gap to the others behind. We’ve seen many times before in motorsport that anything can happen, so I’m not counting them out, but I’m not focussed on the people behind,” he noted.While Bjork said that he was ‘relaxed’ ahead of the showdown, it would be a major disappointment for Swede if he were to lose the title after leading the championship.“I’m not really thinking about that,” Bjork said. “It feels like this is the showdown and the fight (between myself and Norbert). If we were really crazy and took out each other on the first lap, then I think we’d be handing the championship to the others, but I don’t think we will do that. We would like to have a good fight and see what happens through both races,” the 36-year-old said.While the drivers remained cordial and respected each other, Bjork’s team Polestar Cyan Racing have pulled out a card by bringing in Yvan Muller, the most successful driver in WTCC history, to race in Qatar.Four-time champion Muller is coming out of retirement to support Bjork’s title bids, as the team decided to bench Argentine driver Nestor Girolami. Muller has spent 2017 testing for Volvo’s factory team in the WTCC and performing an advisory role for the squad. But he’s back on track after almost a year out of competition, and could yet play a pivotal role in the championship outcome.“He (Muller) brought so much to the team with the winter testing, setting up the car,” said Bjork. “He knows the car, the team decided we have that card to play and we’ll play it and see what happens, simple as that. I am just very proud he decided to come and work with us – we’re in a world championship fight together with him, he’s so successful, so experienced, he’s a really great guy also. Without him it would have taken us longer to get to where we are, longer to get to where I am. Maybe now he’s in the car maybe we can learn one step more,” added Bjork.Michelisz insisted Muller’s late addition won’t alter his approach. “It’s not changing my approach or my position,” said the Hungarian. “I’m sorry for Nestor, he did a good job. I don’t know what’s really in the background but, for me, it doesn’t’ really matter.”