The opening stage of the 2026 TCR European Endurance season was packed with action from start to finish. The series promoted by Riza International, which shares the track with the brand new GTC Endurance Challenge, began its third year at the Autodromo di Vallelunga, a track that has always provided great racing in the championship – and this year was no different.
The fight for the Gen-2 spoils was full of surprises. Starting at the front, reigning champion Eric Scalvini (Cupra Leon VZ) was overtaken at the start by Vedat Ali Dalokay (Audi RS3 LMS), while the other Audi of BF Motorsport kept third with Alessandro Berton. Dalokay held the lead until the 16th minute, when Scalvini tried a move up the inside of Turn 11. The Italian unfortunately collided with another car in the process, and peeled into the pits shortly after to retire the car from the opening stage. That brought out the safety car, with Dalokay pitting when the pit window was opened a few minutes later to give the car to Sinan Çiftçi; Berton followed suit, as Alessandro Lisi stepped in. At the restart, the two had similar pace, though Çiftçi eventually pulled away in the latter stages. Çiftçi/Dalokay therefore earned the race lead after Stage-1, with Lisi/Berton finishing in second. In the Gen-1 class, Kalpaklıoğlu/Göktaş (Audi RS3 Gen-1) held top spot from start to finish, taking home the class lead and starting their season in emphatic fashion.
In the DSG class, Wimmer Werk Motorsport was able to take the race lead after a near-perfect Stage-1 performance. Starting ahead of his rivals, Maximilian Kochendörfer (Cupra TCR DSG) had a great getaway, keeping the lead and staying in front of the Audi RS3s of Davide Pezza and Paolo Palanti (Audi RS3 DSG), while Pasquale Serratore (Cupra TCR DSG) held on to fourth. When safety car came out, Pezza looked to have moved into first, but was forced to retire shortly after after sustaining damage to his front-right suspension, leaving the door wide open for Wimmer Werk to retake the lead. That’s what Kochendörfer’s teammate Aaron Klug did, as the Austrian set the pace in the second half of Stage-1 to take the chequered flag first. Behind him were Argenti/Serratore, as the former was able to overtake Cristian Carinci, who had stepped in for Palanti at the pit stop phase. Still, Palanti/Carinci were able to secure a podium finish in the DSG standings for Stage-1, coming home in third.
The on-track action will resume on Sunday 19 April for one final day of racing, with Stage-2 set to start at 14:15 local time. The final stage of the weekend will be broadcast on TCR TV’s official YouTube channel, as well as on PitwallTV and Acelera GP’s.
