Just like in the season opener at the Mugello Circuit, it was BF Motorsport who took pole position in qualifying: in fact, it was Brigliadori/Cartia (Audi RS3 LMS) who emerged as the fastest pair following the sum of the times, thus making it the Italian team’s second consecutive pole this season. After setting the fastest overall time in free practice, the Italian duo replicated their impressive form in qualifying and secured first place; this also makes Yuri Brigliadori the new championship leader in the overall standings, thanks to the 7 points brought home today for claiming pole.
In qualifying 1, drivers had to deal with a late red flag, caused by Tuder’s Emilio Damante stuck in the gravel with less than four minutes left on the clock; this put both Brigliadori and Eric Scalvini under pressure, as neither one of them had set a valid lap time before the interruption. However, Brigliadori’s one and only flying lap once the session resumed was good enough to go to the top, thanks to a 2:12.413. This demoted DSG leader Senna Summerbell to second, as the Jamaican had led the opening part of qualifying, who raced on his own for Wimmer Werk Motorsport like in Mugello – as Chris Issa opted not to race after partaking in free practice. Third was Ibrahim Okyay in the Gen-1 Audi of TEXACO Team AMS; behind him, teammate Onat Telkenar enjoyed an impressive debut, finishing fourth overall and second in the DSG standings. Fifth and Sixth were the two Tuder entries, with Luca Giovannoni ahead of Emilio Damante, as the latter was able to come back to the pits after causing the red flag. Scalvini’s final lap of the session was only good enough for seventh.
Q2 then took place a few minutes later; in a session that run without interruptions, it was Salvatore Tavano who set the fastest lap – not just of the session, but of the entire weekend so far – with a 2:11.881. Giuseppe Cartia was able to bring BF Motorsport’s Audi to second place, while Summerbell was once again the fastest in the DSG class, finishing in third overall. The Gen-1 Audi of TEXACO Team AMS, this time driven by Sinan Çiftçi, finished fourth, ahead of Tuder Racing drivers Alessio Alcidi and Edoardo Maccari; meanwhile, Berk Kalpaklıoğlu settled for seventh.
After the sum of the times, the BF Motorsport duo of Brigliadori/Cartia took pole with a 4:27.055; behind them, Senna Summerbell (Cupra TCR DSG) enjoyed a season-best qualifying result of second overall, while also taking the DSG pole. Third were Çiftçi/Okyay (Audi RS3 Gen-1), thus making it three different classes in the top three, while Scalvini/Tavano (Cupra Leon Competicion) had to settle for fourth place in the overall standings. The third row of the grid will be made up of the two Tuder Racing cars, with Alcidi/Giovannoni (VW Golf DSG) getting the better of teammates Damante/Maccari (Audi RS3 DSG). Rounding out the top seven is the TEXACO Team AMS entry of Kalpaklıoğlu/Telkenar (Audi RS3 DSG), who also qualified fourth in the DSG standings.
With Friday’s programme now in the books, the attention moves to Saturday: in fact, the weekend’s schedule for round two of the 2025 TCR European Endurance season, which for the first time ever takes place alongside a prestigious FIA series as the main event such as the FIA European Truck Racing Championship, will then see the two stages split throughout the next two days. Stage-1 of the race will begin on Saturday, June 7th at 11:05 local time, whereas Stage-2 is set to take place on Sunday, June 8th at 11:45. Both stages will be broadcast live on TCR TV’s official YouTube channel, with Daniele Spadi providing commentary on both occasions. As per previous rounds, the race will be broadcast in Germany by Motorsport Television Deutschland, and in Italy on GO TV, channel 809 on Sky Italy, with commentary provided by Simone Casciaro and Alice Cecchi, with the latter also covering the pit reporter role in Mugello.
