Turgut Konukoǧlu and Eric Brigliadori (Audi RS3 TCR – TEXACO Team AMS) have secured another pole position, placing them in a strong position to fight for the overall title in tomorrow’s two stages. This pole position was never in doubt; the pair has been the fastest on the Misano World Circuit – Marco Simoncelli since the first free practice session. This is their third pole position of the season, but their first at this circuit, having missed out on the pole in the third round to PMA Motorsport. Furthermore, Eric Brigliadori set an impressive lap time of 1:42.299, beating Girolami’s previous best lap of the previous round.
After two 15-minute qualifying sessions, the best lap times of each driver in each team were summed up. The combined classification shows the dominance of TEXACO Team AMS, who not only secured pole position but also claimed the top three spots. Okyay/Kaçan (Audi RS3 DSG) will start from the front row and will be aiming for another victory in DSG class. The second row will feature the Audi RS3 Gen-1 of Pinar/Çiftci, alongside the VW Golf DSG of Brigatti/Cappelli from Faro Racing, who have made a strong recovery after the second free practice session. Their aim will be to return to the podium of DSG class after their extraordinary winning debut in the third round. In the third row, we find the Cupra DSG of Pro Race, making their debut in the series promoted by Mauricio Slaviero with Nardilli/Lisi. The Italian duo have demonstrated their experience on this type of car, having performed a solid weekend so far.
Finally, the second Faro Racing car will be driven by team manager Fabrizio Tablò in the second VW Golf DSG. He will be the only driver who does not have to make a driver change during the two stages, so he will have to serve a 5-second pit stop penalty as per the regulations. The first day of racing is now over. The action will resume tomorrow, when the lights will go out for the final round of this exciting inaugural season of the TCR European Endurance. The start for the first stage will be at 9:00 local time, while the second one will start at 17:35 local time. Both 55-minute plus one lap races will be broadcast on the TCR TV YouTube channel with commentary by Stefano Russo.
