Misano hosts wide open title battle as Luigi Ferrara leads
After an unusually lengthy break of more than one month, action resumes for TCR Italy at Misano, which hosts the third round of the championship.
Imola had witnessed a dominant performance for V-Action’s Luigi Ferrara, who took a clean sweep of victories on the banks of the Santerno river. Despite not enjoying good performances at the following event in France, the Alfa Romeo Giulietta TCR still remains in the lead of the championship, although by as little as 3,5 points over Cupra duo Salvatore Tavano-Matteo Greco.
Despite a win in Race 2 at Paul Ricard, Andrea Larini is third in the championship, 9 points off the lead. The Italian won the red-flagged second heat in France, which only awarded 50% of the regular points. Defending champion Nicola Baldan is fourth in his Pit Lane Competizioni Hyundai i30 N TCR. Having failed to score points in the first race at Imola, Baldan also pays the price of the shortened second race at Paul Ricard, which only gave him 1,5 points despite clearly showing good pace by taking pole position and a win.
Eric Scalvini is in a similar situation, having suffered from issues in the Imola curtain raiser and not quite having the chance to fulfill his BRC Hyundai’s potential in France, where he finished second to stable-mate Baldan in the first heat after an entertaining fight. MM Motorsport’s Max Mugelli must also be expected to bounce back after a couple of troubled weekends. The Honda Civic TCR can be more competitive than it was so far, and without a doubt the Tuscany-based driver has the speed to take it a bit further up the grid.
For the first time this year there will be an Opel Astra TCR on the grid, with Andrea Argenti finally making his debut at the wheel of the German car with South Italy Racing Team. Nello Nataloni could join him in a second Astra, but the entry has not been confirmed at the time of writing.
The DSG Trophy has been dominated by Giovanni Altoé so far, the TCR Europe regular taking a clean sweep of wins in the first four races of the year. The category will feature series returnée Giuseppe Montalbano, who was a protagonist last year in the BF Motorsport-run SEAT León TCR equipped with a sequential gearbox, famously making contact with Kevin Giacon last year at Misano. The Sicily-based driver will be back at the wheel of a Cupra, run by BF Motorsport.
Action will begin with two free practice sessions on Friday, both lasting 25 minutes and scheduled for 9:35 and 14:00 CET respectively. Qualifying will be held on Saturday, starting at 12:35 and also lasting 25 minutes. The first race will be held almost at dawn, beginning at 18:10 on Saturday and lasting, as usual, 25 minutes + 1 lap. The final race of the weekend is scheduled for 10:40 on Sunday.
TCR Italy – Misano timetable:
Friday 15th June:
9:35 – Free practice 1
14:00 – Free practice 2
Saturday, 16th June:
12:35 – Qualifying
18:10 – Race 1
Sunday, 17th June:
10:40 – Race 2
