Photo: TCR Italy

Michele Imbert climbs to victory in safety car interrupted final 2026 race

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Newly crowned TCR Italy champion Michele Imberti charged from seventh on the grid to win a safety car-interrupted final race of the season at Mugello.

Cupra driver Sandro Pelatti started from pole and headed the field as the lights went out ahead of a fast-starting Giacomo Prandelli who started fifth.

Hyundai driver Imberti was also on the move early on, making his way up to second place before the end of the first lap.

The race ended abruptly for leading driver Pelatti who made a mistake on lap three, spinning off into the gravel and triggered the first safety car session.

The race resumed on lap five and Honda driver Marco Pellegrini made his way past Audi driver Prandelli for second place before the end of that lap.

However, Pellegrini had a five-second penalty looming over his head for positioning his car incorrectly on the grid.

Paolo Rocca went on the inside of Matteo Poloni in the fight for sixth place on lap eight, resulting in hard contact between the two and a second safety car session.

Poloni’s Audi was left stranded in the gravel while Rocca limped back into the pits with a puncture.

The race resumed on lap ten as Prandelli made a mistake and dropped two places to fifth behind Carlo Alberto Bocca and Cosimo Barberini.

Bocca was then next up to make a mistake and dropped behind the two, possibly distracted by the fact that part of his bonnet had come loose.

MM Motorsport driver Pellegrini was right on the rear bumper of Imberti during the last couple of laps, with Cupra driver closing in rapidly from behind.

But Imberti managed to stay ahead to win ahead of Pellegrini who dropped down to third place due to his penalty.

Barberini was close to the duo on the final lap in third place but suffered some kind of issue during the last sequence of corners and dropped down to fourth.

Second place went to Prandelli instead who started the last lap in fourth place.

Denis Babuin finished fifth ahead of Czech Cupra driver Petr Cizek. Bocca and Francesco Cardone rounded off the top eight.