Nicola Baldan wins final Misano race while Nicolas Taylor is penalised
Nicola Baldan won the second and final TCR Italy race of the Misano season opener while reigning champion and Race 1 winner Nicolas Taylor was hit with a penalty to finish fifth.
Audi driver Baldan started the race from pole position, made a strong start and kept the lead throughout the race.
Jacopo Cimenes stalled from third place on the grid and dropped down the order to finish ninth.
PMA Motorsport driver Taylor started eighth and was up into sixth place on the opening lap, challenging BRC Racing Team driver Alex Ley for fifth place.
Taylor tapped Ley into a half-spin during the opening lap which saw the Hyundai driver drop down to eighth place while the Canadian driver was handed a five-second penalty for the incident.
Taylor was then involved in a race-long fight with rival Audi driver Pietro Alessi as the duo climbed up to fight for the final podium position.
Alessi overtook Taylor for fifth place with 15 minutes left of the race but made a mistake, dropping back behind the Canadian driver.
Taylor then passed Denis Babuin (Audi) for fourth place with eleven minutes left of the race, a move allowing Alessi past as well.
The duo then attacked Matteo Poloni for third place during the last couple of laps, with Taylor running wide as he passed Poloni, allowing Alessi to pass them both.
Kombat Motorsport driver Michele Imberti (Hyundai) closed in on Baldan in the final half of the race but did not get close enough to pass.
Baldan won the race half a second ahead of Imberti while Alessi was close to 12 seconds behind in third place.
Taylor crossed the finishing line in fourth but was demoted to fifth following his penalty for the incident with Ley.
Babuin was instead classified as fourth ahead of Taylor, Poloni, Ley and Gabriele Covini.
Taylor heads the standings after the first race weekend on 79 points, four more than Baldan in second and eight more than Imberti in third.
The next TCR Italy race takes place at Vallelunga on May 23-25.
