An exciting opening stage in Vallelunga saw Scalvini/Tavano (Cupra Leon Competicion) take the checkered flag in first place, thus securing the stage win as well as the race lead. After starting from pole position, the Italian duo secured full points for Stage-1 during round three of the 2025 TCR European Endurance season, thanks to a fantastic performance from both drivers throughout the 55 minutes of racing.
The start, however, was not ideal for the Wimmer Werk Motorsport entry, as Eric Scalvini lost the lead into Turn 2 to Néstor Girolami, who had a perfect getaway with his Hyundai Elantra N. Behind them, championship leader Yuri Brigliadori gained four places en route to third in the overall standings. In the fight for the DSG lead, Berk Kalpaklıoğlu lost out to Davide Rosini and Edoardo Maccari, before spinning out in Turn 14 at the end of the opening lap. During lap two, however, Rosini had to pull into the pit lane due to an issue that put an end to his dreams of leading the DSG class. The first half of Stage-1 then saw Girolami create a healthy lead over Scalvini, eventually growing it to over 13 seconds; the latter had to watch out for Brigliadori, as just three seconds separated them throughout the opening stint. The TEXACO Team AMS Gen-1 entry of Sinan Çiftçi ran in a stable fourth, with Maccari and Senna Summerbell fighting hard for the DSG lead, the Italian able to defend from the Jamaican’s attacks.
With 29 minutes left on the clock, Scalvini pulled into the pits first, with Salvatore Tavano taking control of the Cupra. Girolami followed suit three minutes later, as the Argentinian left his car to Viktor Davidovksi, while DSG leader Maccari did the same with Emilio Damante. Two new drivers made their official race debut in the second half of the stage: Umut Göktaş took over in the DSG entry of TEXACO Team AMS from Kalpaklıoğlu, whereas Chris Issa relieved Summerbell of his driving duties for Stage-1. A lap later, Brigliadori also entered the pit lane, leaving his Audi to Alessandro Alcidi. Shortly after the pit window, Rosini tried to go back racing, but the issues to his car turned out to be terminal, as he stopped while out on track and retired.
The second half of Stage-1 saw Tavano chase down Davidovski for the lead: the three-time TCR Italy champion eventually caught the back of the BRC Racing Team driver, pulling off the overtake with 11 minutes to go into Turn 11. From that moment on, he never looked back, as Scalvini/Tavano (Cupra Leon Competicion) ultimately took home the stage win as well as the race lead after the first 55 minutes; Davidovksi/Girolami (Hyundai Elantra N) had to settle for second, with a 6.617s gap to the race leaders. Brigliadori/Alcidi (Audi RS3 LMS) took home third, while Çiftçi/Okyay (Audi RS3 Gen-1) were the Gen-1 leaders as well as fourth overall. The DSG race lead belonged to Damante/Maccari (Audi RS3 DSG), who finished fifth and ahead of Kalpaklıoğlu/Göktaş (Audi RS3 DSG); the TEXACO Team AMS entry was able to take over second in the DSG category from Summerbell/Issa (Cupra Leon DSG), who finished third in class and seventh overall.
With Stage-1 in the books, the second and final stage of the weekend will take place later today at 14:15 local time. Once again, Stage-2 will be broadcast live on TCR TV’s official YouTube channel, with commentary provided by Daniele Spadi.
