A record field at Imola for TCR Italy season opener

With a field exceeding the forty cars and an increased international participation, TCR Italy's new season is set to break all records, with the championship promoter ACI Sport considering the possibility to run separate races for the DSG class if there are at least 14.

Two drivers emerge from the rest of the field for their records: the reigning champion Niels Langeveld who has switched to MM Motorsport to drive a brand new Honda Civic Type R FL5 and TCR Europe's 2022 title winner Franco Girolami who will race a second-generation Audi RS 3 LMS for the newly-founded Aikoa Racing.

However, the two of them face a strong competition with a number of drivers who have both skills and stuffs to aim for the top places, such as Marco Butti (Target Competition, Hyundai Elantra N), Denis Babuin (Bolza Corse, Audi RS 3 LMS), Michele Imberti (CRM Motorsport, Hyundai i30 N), the Estonian pair of Ruben Volt and Mattias Vahtel (ALM Motorsport, Honda Civic Type R FK7), Langeveld's teammate Paolo Rocca also in a Civic FK7, Levente Losonczy (Aggressive Team Italia, Hyundai Elantra N), and the Fernández brothers, Felipe and Rubén (RC2 Junior Team, Audi RS 3 LMS).

Amongst the guest stars for this opening event are TCR Europe competitor Felice Jelmini (PMA Motorsport, Audi RS 3 LMS) and the former TCR European champion and WTCR race winner Aurélien Comte (SP Compétition, CUPRA Leon Competición).

For this opening event, the field is completed by ten drivers competing for the DSG trophy; amongst them is worth naming last year's title contender Mauro Trentin, the 2022 Coppa Italia Turismo Endurance champion Carlotta Fedeli and Turkish racer Vedat Ali Dalokay, the runner up in the 2022 Coppa Italia Turismo.

Both races will be streamed live at www.tcr-series.com: Race 1 Saturday at 15:20 and Race 2 Sunday at 13:00 local times.

Picture: ACI Sport