At the end of the season’s first 55 minutes of racing, Wimmer Werk Motorsport emerged as the leading force during Stage 1 of the 2025 TCR European Endurance season: their all-Italian duo of Scalvini/Tavano (Cupra Leon Competicion) crossed the line in first place after an exciting opening stage of the race around the Mugello Circuit, this year’s maiden round of the series promoted by Mauricio Slaviero.
Starting from second place on the grid, Salvatore Tavano took the lead during lap one from pole sitter Yuri Brigliadori, showing his pace and racecraft in the opening sequences of a stage that still presented a slightly damp track. On the other hand, it wasn’t the best start for Edoardo Maccari, who was handed a 10-second time penalty for failing to follow the correct starting procedure. After the first lap, the three-time TCR Italy champion then built a 3.0s gap over his rival, as the fight for the DSG lead intensified behind him – with Jamaica’s Senna Summerbell holding off Zekai Özen’s attacks and overtaking the Gen-1 Audi of İbrahim Okyay for fourth overall in the process. After 10 minutes, the #33 VW Golf of Daniele Verrocchio hit trouble, as he had to face an early pit stop to try and fix the car’s ongoing issues.
In the latter half of the opening stint, Tavano had to fend off Brigliadori’s comeback, as the BF Motorsport driver started making considerable inroads on the race leader and brought the gap down to less than one second; meanwhile, Sandro Pelatti held third position for PMA Motorsport, lightly treading around the damp Mugello Circuit waiting for the pit window to open. When that happened, the Tuscan driver pitted right away – together with most DSG entries – and handed the car to Franco Girolami for the remainder of the stage. In the fight for the lead, Tavano pitted first, to let Eric Scalvini handle the second half; Brigliadori then followed suit two laps later, as Alessandro Alcidi got ready to start his stint. A great job from the entire BF Motorsport team meant that Alcidi managed to overtake the Wimmer Werk Motorsport Cupra after the pit stop window, getting back the lead they had lost on the opening lap.
With 18 minutes left on the clock, Scalvini used his warmer tyres to re-take first place away from the #3 Audi; from that point, the Wimmer Werk Motorsport driver never looked back, creating a sizeable gap over Alcidi. The latter then had to fend off Girolami, as the three-time TCR champion gained on the Italian lap after lap. The two engaged in an exciting battle with eight minutes to go; after a fantastic defensive effort, a small-lock up left Alcidi vulnerable on the final corner, with Girolami able to go through with three minutes left. However, the leading pair was comfortably in the lead by that point.
This meant that Scalvini/Tavano kept first position until the end of Stage 1, thus getting the championship lead after both yesterday and today’s performances; the Italian pair crossed the line with an 11.373s gap to Pelatti/Girolami (Audi RS3 LMS), who finished second. After fighting for the lead throughout the stage, Brigliadori/Alcidi (Audi RS3 LMS) had to settle for third, though with only 14.389s to gain on the race leaders, everything will be to play for come Stage 2. Fourth overall was Senna Summerbell (Cupra Leon DSG), who is also the undisputed DSG class leader despite having to spend 5 more seconds in the pit lane, as the Jamaican races on his own. Meanwhile, Gen-1 leaders Çiftçi/Okyay (Audi RS3 Gen-1) crossed the line in fifth. Tuder Motorsport is in prime position to fight for a double DSG podium: Alcidi/Giovannoni (VW Golf GTI DSG) is second in class after the first 55 minutes of racing, with teammates Damante/Maccari (Audi RS3 DSG) behind them in third. Both cars were able to overtake Kalpaklıoğlu/Özen (Audi RS3 DSG) in the second half of the stage, as the TEXACO Team AMS pair settled for fourth in class and eighth overall. Ninth was Stefano Moretti (VW Golf GTI DSG), while Cuppari/Verrocchio (VW Golf GTI DSG) were able to get back out on track after their early issues to finish in tenth.
With Stage 1 now in the books, it’s time to focus on Stage 2: the remaining 55 minutes of racing, which will determine the first winners of the 2025 TCR European Endurance season, are set to begin at 17:25 local time. The second stage will be broadcast live on TCR TV’s official YouTube channel, with commentary provided by Daniele Spadi.
