After three months of long wait, TCR European Endurance is finally gearing up to get back out on track and start the second half of the season, as round three of the 2025 campaign is set to take place in Vallelunga. After two exciting races hosted at Mugello and the Slovakiaring, the series promoted by Mauricio Slaviero will make its way back to Italy this weekend, where a total of 17 drivers are expected to compete. The Roman circuit welcomes the championship for the second time after last year’s event; at 4.085 km, it is the shortest track on the 2025 calendar, though it suits touring cars perfectly, hosting plenty of TCR-sanctioned competitions in recent years such as TCR World Tour and WTCR.
Thanks to his results in the opening two rounds of the 2025 season, BF Motorsport’s Yuri Brigliadori (Audi RS3 LMS) is the current championship leader with 136 points. The Italian is still on the quest for his first win in the series, however, as he finished second in both events this year; to do that, he will be partnered by Alessandro Alcidi, thus replicating the line-up seen at Mugello. Behind him is Senna Summerbell (Cupra TCR DSG): after a stunning overall victory in Slovakia – also thanks to his teammate Chris Issa – the Jamaican youngster is just six points off Brigliadori in the standings, while also holding the championship lead in the DSG class. Third place in the overall classification belongs to Gen-1 class leaders Çiftçi/Okyay (Audi RS3 Gen-1), who will be looking for their first overall podium this weekend after having completed both races in fourth with TEXACO Team AMS.
After claiming his first top-3 finish last time out and climbing to fourth in the drivers’ standings as a result, Luca Giovannoni (VW Golf DSG) is set to be on the starting grid with a different teammate this time. In Vallelunga, Alessio Alcidi will in fact be replaced by Davide Rosini: the 29-year-old has plenty of experience in motorsport across different categories, and he is set to make his continental debut in TCR European Endurance. Behind them in the standings are Scalvini/Tavano (Cupra Leon Competicion): arguably one of the quickest pairs of the season so far, the Wimmer Werk Motorsport entry has suffered reliability issues in both races, and is now sitting in fifth in the standings with a 49-point gap to close down.
Berk Kalpaklıoğlu (Audi RS3 DSG) is set to race once more with TEXACO Team AMS’ DSG entry. This time, he is sharing the car with fellow junior driver Umut Göktaş: the Turk has been racing with excellent results in the Turkish Track Championship this year with TEXACO Team AMS, and is now stepping up to the European stage. The Tuder Motorsport pair of Damante/Maccari (Audi RS3 DSG) is also set to return to fight for the DSG-class win in Vallelunga.
Other than the aforementioned driver changes, two new teams are set to make their debut in TCR European Endurance this weekend with the Hyundai Elantra N, marking the model’s first time out on track in the series promoted by Mauricio Slaviero. On one hand, BRC Racing Team will be joining the grid with an elite line-up. Their car will be driven by Néstor Girolami, who sits in an impressive 9th in the TCR World Ranking and is a former WTCR runner-up in 2022, and Viktor Davidovski, a driver with plenty of experience in both TCR World Tour and TCR Europe. On the other hand, a second Hyundai Elantra N TCR is set to be brought by Renauer Motorsport, as Austria’s Bernhard Stitz makes his debut.
The schedule for this weekend will see drivers hit the track for the first time on Friday 19th September for two 40-minute free practice sessions, at 14:20 and 16:30 local time respectively. Qualifying will take place on Saturday 20th September, with the two 15-minute sessions happening at 9:00 and 9:50 local time; later the same day, Stage-1 is set to begin at 18:35 local time. Sunday 21st September will instead see the green flag for Stage-2 be waived at 14:15 local time. Both stages will last 55 minutes. Both stages will last 55 minutes, and they will be broadcast live on TCR TV’s official YouTube channel, with commentary provided by Daniele Spadi.
