www m i ch el i sz net
m edia i nformat i on
by gbrlla
table of contents
profile milestones past results career history 2011 car team races partners contact
profile
nationality place of birth date of birth spoken languages
Hungarian Mohรกcs 08/08/1984 Hungarian, English, German
website www.michelisz.net facebook www.fb.me/michelisz.norbert twitter www.twitter.com/michelisz
milestones
04/22/2011 Norbert Michelisz lines up on the grid with a 2011 BMW 320 TC in Zolder, Belgium. He scores the most points in the Yokohama Drivers’ Trophy on his maiden weekend with the BMW. 11/21/2010 Norbert Michelisz wins FIA WTCC Race 2 of Macau and becomes the only Rookie Challenge driver to win a WTCC race in 2010. He also takes the 2010 FIA World Touring Car Championship Rookie Challenge title 10/31/2010 Michelisz secures his first WTCC podium finish in Okayama after an FIA International Court of Appeal decision promotes the Zengő-Dension Team driver from fifth to third 07/04/2010 At the Race of Portugal Michelisz leads the WTCC field for the first time, only to retire due to an engine failure
05/23/2010 Michelisz steps up to the podium for the first time as the winner of the Rookie classification in Italy 03/07/2010 Michelisz scores the first overall points in the FIA WTCC for Hungary on his debut in Brazil as a full time driver in the world championship
07/05/2009 Michelisz secures his 2nd WTCC outing as a SEAT Sport guest driver in Porto by winning the Portuguese round of the 2009 SEAT Leon EuroCup 10/26/2008 Michelisz becomes the first Hungarian competitor in the FIA WTCC at the 2008 Race of Japan
10/25/2009 Michelisz wins Race 1 of the European Touring Car Cup in Braga with a SEAT Leon TDI
10/04/2008 Michelisz wins Race 1 of the SEAT Leon EuroCup in Monza and earns an FIA WTCC guest drive
09/20/2009 Michelisz becomes 2009 SEAT Leon EuroCup Champion with 5 wins and 4 pole positions
07/12/2008 Michelisz takes his maiden pole position in the SEAT Leon EuroCup in Estoril. He begins a six weekend streak of pole positions.
07/18/2009 Michelisz gets into the Q2 of the 2009 FIA WTCC Race of UK in Brands Hatch
05/17/2008 Michelisz makes his debut in the SEAT Leon EuroCup in Valencia
04/20/2008 Michelisz wins Race 2 of the 2008 Hungarian SEAT Leon Super Cup season-opener at the Hungaroring 09/02/2007 Michelisz takes the Hungarian Renault Clio Cup title 10/01/2006 Michelisz wins the 2006 Suzuki Swift Cup at the Hungaroring as a part of the Budapest Supercar 500 FIA GT race weekend 07/10/2006 Michelisz tests a Coloni Nissan Formula 3 car at the Hungaroring 05/06/2006 Michelisz makes his car racing debut in the Suzuki Swift Cup and takes back to back victories on his maiden race weekend
past results
2005
Testing with Zengő Motorsport Online racing with PC simulations, winner of Grand Prix Legends and GTR races
2009
SEAT Leon EuroCup, Zengő Motorsport: Champion, 5 victories, 7 podium finishes, 4 pole positions
2006
Hungarian Suzuki Swift Cup, Zengő Motorsport:
FIA World Touring Car Championship, SUNRED Engineering: 2 races at Brands Hatch, 2 points
Champion, 6 victories, 2 podium finishes, Talent of the Year
2007
Hungarian Renault Clio Cup, Zengő Motorsport: 8 victories, 5 podium finishes
2008
FIA World Touring Car Championship, SUNRED Engineering: 2 races in Okayama, 4 points SEAT Leon EuroCup, Zengő Motorsport: 12th position, victory in Monza, 4 consecutive pole positions Hungarian SEAT Leon Super Cup, Zengő Motorsport: Runner-up, 4 victories, 3 podium finishes
FIA European Touring Car Cup, SEAT Sport: 3rd, 1 victory, 1 pole position Copa SEAT Leon España, Zengő Motorsport: 3rd, 1 victory, 6 podium finishes 2009 FIA Talent of the Year
2010
FIA World Touring Car Championship, Zengő-Dension Team: Winner of the Rookie Challenge, 9th in the overall standings, winner of the 2010 Race of Macau VIP guest driver in the Lamborghini Blancpain Super Trofeo at the Hungaroring
career history
Norbert Michelisz, the first Hungarian driver who has won a world championship race in an FIA series, was born on the 8th of August 1984 in Mohács, Hungary. He was raised near the city of Pécs, a historic venue for Hungarian rally drivers with his uncle being a race driver himself. Michelisz got poised by motorsport in his childhood but then the financial circumstances did not allow him to start a professional racing career. As an alternative, Norbert turned to racing simulations in his teens. As a result of his achievements, he came to know Gabor Wéber, who was then Zengő Motorsport’s most successful driver in the real-life Hungarian Renault Clio Cup. Wéber noticed the talent of the young Michelisz and recommended him for a test to team chairman Zoltán Zengő. Michelisz showed a stunning performance on his debut in a real Renault Clio Cup car and impressed Zengő Motorsport’s chiefs so much that they entered the young talent for the maiden 2006 Suzuki Swift Cup.
career history
Back to back champion in Hungary The season brought tough competition but Michelisz won 6 out of the 13 races including the two events on his debut and became the first ever champion of the Suzuki Swift Cup. At the end of the season he was awarded the “Talent of the Year” trophy by the Hungarian Autosport Federation MNASZ. In 2007 Michelisz made a step forward when he moved up to the Renault Clio Cup. After some initial difficulties he scored a total 8 victories out of 15 races and defeated his in-house rival János Vida in the chase for the 2007 Renault Clio Cup title.
career history
Breaking into the FIA World Touring Car Championship The 2008 season was a real breakthrough for both Michelisz and Zengő Motorsport as the Hungarian team entered the SEAT Leon EuroCup featuring Gábor Wéber and Norbert Michelisz. The duo formed a great alliance, with Wéber scoring the team’s first international victory in Pau, but Michelisz took command from the following race in Estoril and claimed four pole positions in a row. This led to the success at the season-finale in Monza, where Michelisz claimed his first ever victory in the SEAT Leon EuroCup and secured the chance to drive the factory-supported guest car in the Japanese round of the 2008 FIA World Touring Car Championship. Michelisz was a victim of a crash on the first race in Okayama after getting the 20th place on the starting grid but in the second race he delivered a great performance and finished 16th from 28th on the grid. He said later that the top priority was to demonstrate his abilities to SEAT Sport’s experts.
career history
Champion of the SEAT Leon EuroCup At the beginning of the 2009 season Zengő Motorsport and Dension Ltd., one of the world’s leading manufacturers of connected car entertainment systems, joined forces. This enabled Michelisz to compete in the the 2009 SEAT Leon EuroCup, eventually securing the championship title, and to race in six different championships with four different SEAT race cars, including the 2009 FIA WTCC world champion SEAT Leon TDI. As a prize for taking the EuroCup title, Michelisz raced the SEAT Leon TDI in Braga at the European Touring Car Cup, where he took victory from pole position in Race 1 and finished 3rd in the overall classification. A few months earlier Michelisz also earned to chance to line up on the WTCC grid for the second time in his career: the Hungarian driver took part in the British round of the world championship at Brands Hatch and scored 2 points in Race 2. After Michelisz’s impressive campaign during the 2009 season, it was clear that the young Hungarian driver is right to knock on the door of the FIA WTCC; the only question was whether he can have a chance to step up to the highest level permanently. As a result of SEAT’s decision to re-organize its motorsport activities, privateer teams were given the opportunity to run the factory-spec world champion SEAT Leon TDI race cars. With the collaboration of Zengő Motorsport and Dension Ltd., the new Zengő-Dension Team was formed, entering Norbert Michelisz into the 2010 FIA World Touring Car Championship.
career history
Full time competitor in the FIA WTCC Norbert Michelisz became the first Hungarian driver who completed an entire season in the FIA World Touring Car Championship in 2010. His maiden year brought memorable successes starting with point scoring finishes right at the first weekend of the season. From the beginning of the European stage of the campaign Michelisz emerged as the fastest rookie driver of the field and made it onto the podium 9 times over the season. Thanks to his superb start in Portugal, Michelisz was leading the field for the first time in his short WTCC career before he was forced to retire from the lead by an engine failure. A few rounds later he was pushed out by his opponents from second place but he managed to take an overall podium finish in Okayama. The season finale in Macau brought the biggest success of the season; Michelisz immediately took the lead on Race 2 and claimed a start-to-finish victory on the toughest venue of the calendar. Michelisz has become the first Hungarian world championship race-winner and he also won the 2010 WTCC Rookie Challenge. At the end of the season he finished 9th in the overall classification.
2011
New car, new look, new challenges Following the successful 2010 season in the FIA World Touring Car Championship, Norbert Michelisz takes part again in the world’s most prestigious touring car series. This year features 12 race weekends on three continents including a true home race at the Hungaroring at the beginning of June. For the first time in his professional racing career, the Hungarian driver lines up on the grid with a rear-wheel drive car, the 2011 BMW 320 TC. Michelisz make the switch for the new technology supported by his long-time allies, Zengő Dension Team joined by BMW Group Hungary. The new car and the new season bring a whole new look for both Norbert and Zengő Dension Team; contrary to the already established color scheme, for the 2011 season a new black-orange outfit was chosen for the team inspired by the box of Dension’s new Car Dock for iPhone. Norbert will make a step forward this year outside the circuit as well: his new website is already online at the www.michelisz.net address that features his new official logo that aims to form an ancient symbol with fiery colors in order to gain more power and momentum.
car
Length 4,539 mm
BMW 320 TC is the further development of the BMW 320si WTCC, with which Andy Priaulx won the World Touring Car Championship for BMW in 2006 and 2007, and which has allowed countless privateers to taste success around the world. Well over 60 models have been delivered to date by BMW Motorsport Distribution. The new BMW 320 TC, which from 2011 can be used in series in accordance with the new Super2000 regulations, is driven by a 1.6 litre, DI-turbo, four-cylinder engine. The six-speed, sequential gearbox, which can be used to configure the circuit-specific transmission ratio, is also a new feature. The self-supporting BMW 320 TC body is manufactured in BMW Plant Regensburg alongside the production body shells for the BMW 1 and 3 Series. It is converted by hand for race deployment in an adjacent hall by specialists. The engineers devoted a lot of thought to the modifications required to the axles and suspension geometry. For instance, they were faced with the task of designing the axles to include a camber setting that could be adjusted independently of any other settings parameters, such as roll centre and track. This would make the axles easier for semi-professional teams to set up. The track width and camber were increased, while the wheel carrier and bearing were carried over from the production model. The BMW 320 TC uses inner-vented, perforated brake discs and four-piston aluminium brake callipers at the front. The grey cast iron discs measure 332 mm in diameter and are 32 mm thick. The car’s rear brakes also feature inner-vented discs measuring 291 mm in diameter, and two-piston aluminium callipers.
Width 1,858 mm Height approx. 1,350 mm Wheel base 2,760 mm Weight 1,170 kg base weight (as per regulations) +/- ballast Tank capacity approx. 45 litres Price 220,000 Euros (racing kit; excl. VAT) Engine type Four-cylinder inline turbo engine with direct fuel injection and air restrictor Capacity 1,598 ccm Bore x stroke 77 x 85.8 mm Compression max 12.5:1 (as per regulations) Max. output approx. 310 bhp Max. torque approx. 420 Nm Max. engine speed 8,500 rpm (as per regulations)
team
Zengő Motorsport team principal team manager media contact e-mail website adDress telephone fax
Mr Zoltán Zengő Mr György Juni Ms Ildikó Szabó info@zengomotorsport.hu www.zengodensionteam.com/en Tétényi út 89, 1119. Budapest, Hungary +36 20 9338336 +36 1 4630195
Founded in the the mid-90s by team principal Zoltán Zengő to become one of the leading motorsport operations in Hungary at the beginning of the 2000s. Zengő Motorsport was originally established to back Zoltán Zengő’s racing ambitions mostly in the Hungarian touring car championships but after the initial years, the outfit started to expand and to take an increased role in the local motorsport industry.
Hungary became the fourth country to start a local SEAT cup with Zengő Motorsport being the organizer behind the project. Two seasons were successfully completed before the global credit crunch damaged the financial climate and the series itself but it was enough for the team to setup its international racing operation in the newly-established SEAT Leon EuroCup featuring Gábor Wéber and rising star Norbert Michelisz.
In 2001 Zengő Motorsport took over the management of Hungary’s first single-brand championship, the Opel Astra Classic Cup. In fact, the company rescued and reinforced the organization, becoming the commercial rights holder and running it until the end of the 2005 season.
In 2008, it was proven that Zengő Motorsport is capable of being successful at the international level as both Wéber and Michelisz managed to take victories in the EuroCup, and Michelisz became the first Hungarian driver to get a drive in the FIA World Touring Car Championship.
The Opel Astra Classic Cup became a very important element in the Hungarian motorsport scene; it opened up the gates for more drivers to race in professional circumstances. 2003 marked another landmark, when the operation expanded its activities and launched its first own single-brand championship, the Renault Clio Cup. The company delivered a total 40 cars to its customers. Every Clio was prepared to race by the team; they served until the end of the 2009 season.
At the beginning of the 2009 season, Zengő Motorsport and Dension Ltd. joined forces, enabling the team to start a more intensive season in three different single-brand championships in Europe. Eventually, Norbert Michelisz took the championship title in the 2009 SEAT Leon EuroCup and won another prize drive in the WTCC.
2003 is memorable also because it was the year when Zoltán Zengő teamed up with the local SEAT distributor Porsche Hungária to form the adRenaline Racing Team, using the first edition of the SEAT Leon Supercopa factory-built race car. This campaign didn’t last long, as Zengő was elected to be the head of the circuit racing division of Hungarian motorsport federation (MNASZ) that prevented him to race in Hungary until 2007 but the link was kept up between the parties, making it possible to launch the Hungarian SEAT Leon Super Cup using the second generation of the Supercopa.
The 2010 season brought an unprecedented challenge for the operation known as Zengő-Dension Team in the from of a full FIA World Touring Car Championship season. The team entered Norbert Michelisz who secured the Rookie Challenge title and an overall race victory at the 2010 Race of Macau. Beside Michelisz’s successes, the team was also victorious in the SEAT Leon EuroCup where they won the title with Gábor Wéber, while Norbert Kiss claimed a victory in the Spanish SEAT Leon Supercopa.
partners
Dension Audio Systems
Dension Audio Systems is a world leading manufacturer of connected car entertainment solutions producing high quality products and solutions for your car as well as for public transport vehicles. Like you, we want to be able to access our music and video files wherever we go and of course we want an easy to use solution. We have made it our mission to enable you to connect digital data sources like iPhone, iPod, USB, or any Bluetooth capable phone to the existing car stereo, without making any changes to the car interior. With our growing range of accessories you can extend the capabilities of your system as far as your imagination will take you.. So whatever you listen to and whatever is on, Dension will make you sure to have a high quality experience on board.
partners BMW Group Hungary
BMW Hungary and Zengő Dension Team signed an agreement in March 2011 saying that the team’s driver Norbert Michelisz will be competing in a BMW 320 TC in the 2011 World Touring Car Championship season. BMW Hungary will also be using its experience and contacts to help the team in technical, logistics and administrative matters. “We have great faith in the performance and experience of the Zengő Dension Team and in the talent of Norbert Michelisz, and we hope that he will get the world to pay closer attention to motorsports in Hungary. We are very happy to welcome another talented sportsman into the family of sportsmen sponsored by BMW Hungary,” Henning Putzke, managing director of BMW Hungary, said. Sponsoring sports – especially motorsports, sailing and golf – has been an important part of BMW’s brand communication at both the global and local level for decades. BMW Hungary has been a committed player in this area and has actively sponsored these sports in Hungary. By sponsoring Norbert Michelisz, BMW Hungary’s commitment to competitive sports extends beyond its successful involvement in long-distance racing to include circuit racing too. Indeed, BMW Hungary is sponsoring a successful sailing team, the BMW Sailing Team, which is currently ranked second in Europe in the ASSO category. BMW Group Hungary is a subsidiary of Munich-based BMW AG. It is the importer and Hungarian distributor for the BMW and MINI brands. New car and motorcycle sales are made through the thirteen BMW, two MINI and four BMW motorcycle brand dealerships that are part of the official brand dealership network.
partners
6x6 Taxi
6x6 Taxi Ltd. was established in 1993 and has operated in Hungary in cooperation with Volåntaxi since 1996. The predecessor of the group has been serving the passengers for almost 40 years. Following the result of the merger, 6x6 Taxi became a significant organization on the Hungarian taxi market. As of 2010 a total 465 cars are in charge to serve more than 80 000 telephone orders each month. The company puts emphasis on its policy to give priority to the passengers’ views in case of any complaints as they believe that the customer is always right. The company has earned the Best of Budapest award of the Budapest Week eight times since 2002 and earned the MSZ EN ISO 9001:2001 certifications.
media contact
György Juni Team manager Zengő Dension Team e-mail info@zengomotorsport.hu address 1119 Budapest, Hungary Tétényi út 89. telephone +36 20 454 5206 fax +36 1 4630195
Viktor Adorján Assistant to Norbert Michelisz Dension Audio Systems Ltd.
Copyright-free, high resolution photo material and press releases on Norbert Michelisz’s career are available in English and in Hungarian at the http://press.michelisz.net address and in email. Requests for changes in the mailing list should be sent to Viktor Adorján: adorjanv@dension.com.
e-mail adorjanv@dension.com address 1116 Budapest, Hungary Sztregova utca 1. telephone +36 30 853 3319 fax +36 1 463 0479