Photo: ACI Sport

Eric Scalvini regrets not being able to fight with former mentor Nicola Baldan

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Eric Scalvini won the second race at Misano from pole position, with the MM Motorsport driver making full use of Nicola Baldan’s retirement, as the SEAT driver had been challenging his lead in the early stages of the race. Despite being pleased with the result, the Honda driver says he would have loved to fight with a driver who has been his mentor for years.

“Had (Baldan) not retired it would have been great to fight with him,” said the Italian to TouringCarTimes. “It would have been a great battle, he’s a tough driver as well and he has been my teacher for years. He allowed me grow a lot. Fighting gives more taste to the victory, if you can battle it out door to door it’s much better.”

Scalvini also reminded he had his own misfortunes on Saturday, when he collided with Opel’s Kevin Giacon in the first race of the weekend, losing several places and ending up third after a charging drive: “After all that’s racing. It was bad for me on Saturday with that contact, although I managed to recover. This was a great win, a fantastic pace, and my Honda is a great car despite the ballast. I can’t wait to continue in this championship, which is very interesting in my opinion.”

With the Balance Of Performance expected to change, Scalvini is unsure of the effect of adding an extra 10 kgs to the Honda Civic TCR and a 10-kg weight break for the SEAT Leóns on a track such as Monza: “Monza is a fast track, but more weight will surely hurt our performances. At Misano we were not too quick, despite the fantastic results, and if they keep adding ballast to the Civic TCR the poor baby will surely suffer from it. I can only promise I will try to do my best, together with the team, and make sure I always come out with the best possible result.”

Scalvini’s lead in the championship is now up to 27 points ahead of Baldan, while third-placed Jonathan Giacon is not expected to take further part in the championship, as he stood in for his ill brother Kevin during the season opener.