Sandro Pelatti and Franco Girolami (Audi RS3) are once more at the top of the standings following stage two of TCR European Endurance’s third round of the 2024 season, thus taking home a convincing victory at the Misano World Circuit named after the late Marco Simoncelli. PMA Motorsport was able to get the better of their rivals thanks to a race pace that proved to be impossible for anyone to match, including championship leaders Konukoğlu/Brigliadori (Audi RS3). Stage two also marked the first historic night race in the series promoted by Mauricio Slaviero, giving the fans a chance to watch the TCR cars under the flashing lights.
The opening lap saw an overtake attempt by Konukoğlu on Pelatti. The Italian was able to maintain the lead and find his rhythm, putting up lap times close to the ones set throughout qualifying. In the DSG class, TEXACO Team AMS immediately got by the Volkswagen Golf DSG of Faro Racing, with Seda Kaçan (Audi RS3 DSG) getting up to fourth spot in the overall standings. Driven by Barkin Pinar, the Audi RS3 Gen-1 #3 maintained third place, defending from the DSG cars behind him. The race went on without issues, as the pit stop window then opened.
The first outfit to pull the trigger was Faro Racing in the DSG class, with Ottavio Cappelli leaving the team’s Volkswagen Golf to Stefano Comini. Unlike stage one, all drivers opted to pit as soon as possible. Sandro Pelatti left his car to Franco Girolami, entrusted to bring PMA Motorsport to the win; Ibrahim Okyay then took over from Seda Kaçan, whereas Eric Brigliadori inherited the #2 Audi RS3 from Turgut Konukoğlu. The last team to box was TEXACO Team AMS in Gen-1, with Pinar making room for Özen. Girolami, a two-time TCR champion, was able to finish the job his teammate first started, also thanks to the gap PMA Motorsport had built during today’s stages. The leading pair in the championship’s overall standings, which stayed behind the duo of Pelatti/Girolami for most of the race’s duration, had to end their evening prematurely only minutes away from the checkered flag, causing the first – and only – retirement of the weekend in Misano. Stepping on the podium was the pair of Cappelli/Comini (VW Golf DSG) for Faro Racing, despite crossing the finish line in stage two behind their DSG rivals. The sum of the two stages’ times was on the side of the debuting team, who also took home the class win despite a five-second time penalty for hitting another car and overtaking it outside of track limits.
With the Gen-1 Audi RS3, TEXACO Team AMS was able to finish in second place in the overall standings, while also taking home the class title with a race to spare. Moreover, thanks to Brigliadori and Konukoğlu’s retirement, the third race of the year saw three different teams – and classes – on the overall podium, demonstrating the solid competitiveness between all categories. The next race on the calendar will be held at the Slovakiaring on August 25th, where the maiden TCR European Endurance season will officially come to a close.
