The third round of the maiden TCR European Endurance season is officially underway, as the teams completed free practice one to get acquainted with the Italian racetrack in cloudy, yet hot weather conditions. After a clean session with no interruptions, it was PMA Motorsport’s new pair of Sandro Pelatti and Franco Girolami (Audi RS3) who led the way after the first on-track outing of the weekend: racing together for the first time in the series promoted by Mauricio Slaviero, the two of them set a 1:42.718 to top the standings – the impact of the 2022 TCR Europe champion proving to be crucial right from the beginning.
Behind them, championship leaders Konukoǧlu/Brigliadori (Audi RS3) were able to post the second fastest time, the gap to first place being less than seven tenths of a second. The TEXACO Team AMS pair finished ahead of teammates Pinar/Özen (Audi RS3 Gen-1), who also topped the Gen-1 category. The fight for the fastest time in the DSG class is set to be exciting throughout the entire weekend; in the first session, it was Faro Racing who ultimately came out on top, as the Italian team with Cappelli/Comini finishing in fourth position overall. On their debut, the duo looked to be at ease behind the wheel of their Golf TCR DSG, with Comini bringing in his experience as a two-time TCR International Series champion. TEXACO Team AMS rounded out the top five, with Kaçan/Okyay (Audi RS3 DSG) just 0.270s slower than their main DSG rivals.
The second free practice session will start later today at 16:00 local time, giving drivers the final chance to learn the track ahead of qualifying, which is scheduled on Saturday, June 22nd at 9:25 in the morning. Both stages will then take place tomorrow, in order to let drivers race at night time: the green flag for stage one will be waved at 17:00, whereas the final part of the third round of the season will get underway at 20:55. Both stages will be live streamed on TCR TV’s YouTube channel, with commentary provided by Daniele Spadi.
