The WTCC (World Touring Car Championship)  contingent is off to the next round at the Hungaroring, next weekend. The all-action global tour stops off in Hungary next week when thousands of Norbert Michelisz-worshiping fans, and their air horns, hit the Hungaroring for international touring car racing at its finest.

Following the spectacular slipstream thriller at the super-fast Monza last month, it’s off to another famous grand prix venue from 12-14 May. But while the speeds won’t be quite as high as they were in northern Italy, WTCC Race of Hungary is set to deliver some truly memorable on-track drama and excitement. And a national hero will be in the thick of the fight.

Michelisz, the original online gamer turned real-life racer, is the man most of Hungary will want to win. Driving for the factory Honda WTCC Team, Michelisz is a driver with revenge on his mind after his bid to take the lead of the Opening Race at Monza ended in retirement following a clash with Mehdi Bennani. The Moroccan, a winner in Hungary last season, will serve a five-place penalty for his part in the incident, while Michelisz will be desperate to claim the victory that got away last time out. The Hungarian has won at home in the WTCC twice before, following up his 2012 victory with a euphoric drive to glory in 2015, a performance that helped to secure a step up to the factory Honda team for the following season.

With four different winners after four rounds so far, the Race of Hungary is expected to be an all action for the competitors and fans alike. Tiago Monteiro, Michelisz’s factory Honda team-mate, heads the WTCC for drivers by 15 points over Polestar Racing’s Thed Björk with Björk’s Volvo-driving colleague Nicky Catsburg third and four points ahead of Michelisz. Rob Huff holds a one-point WTCC Trophy lead over Tom Chilton. As always, factory teams from Honda and Volvo Polestar go up against leading privateer entrants.

Lastly, compensation weight carried by World Touring Cars, which is designed to equalize performance using a time-based calculation, will be adjusted for Race of Hungary. The updated compensation weight list are: Chevrolet RML Cruze TC1 0kg; Citroën C-Elysée WTCC 50kg; Honda Civic WTCC 80kg; LADA Vesta WTCC 0kg; and Volvo S60 Polestar 80kg.

2017 WTCC Season updates

The WTCC  calendar features return to iconic venues Monza and Macau, a new track for WTCC Race of China, plus a mid-July date for WTCC Race of Argentina. In addition, the series’ reduced schedule, 10 weekends only, means every result counts.

The Main Race is longer than before with more points on offer to the top 10 (new scale: 1=30 points; 2=23; 3=19; 4=16; 5=13; 6=10; 7=7; 8=4; 9=2; 10=1). WTCC MAC3, the Tour de France-inspired time trial, continues with two more points for winning. Plus, new two-day format to reduce costs, featuring free Practice 1 and 2 (45 minutes sessions), there’ll be no Friday testing.