Foreign drivers win both races in TCR Italy’s season opener
The first event of the 2024 TCR Italy championship at Misano saw foreign drivers winning both races. 2023 TCR UK runner-up Alex Ley was victorious in Race 1, while the young Korean Junui Park claimed his maiden win in Race 2; both were at the wheel of Hyundai Elantra N cars. Italian drivers had to be content with podium positions, with former champions Salvatore Tavano in the new CUPRA VZ and Nicola Baldan taking one second place apiece. Michele Imberti saw a well-deserved second place vanishing at the end of Race 1 but made up for the disappointment with third in Race 2. Ley is the early leader on 82 points, three ahead of Park, with Tavano in third, 13 points behind.
Race 1 – Ley and Nicolas Taylor shared the front row, with the Briton who had been three tenths faster than the Canadian in Qualifying. Ley retained the lead at the start, chased by Taylor, Hwarang Kim, Baldan, Tavano and Ruben Volt. After nearly losing control of his car, Baldan began to climb, passing Kim for P3 in lap 2 and Taylor for P2 one lap later. Meanwhile, Tavano was struggling to defend the fifth position from the assaults of Junui Park and Volt. In lap 4, Park went wide, and Volt took the opportunity to move up to third ahead of Tavano, while Taylor had dropped to eighth. Baldan closed in on the leader and passed Ley in lap 7, while Junesung Park, who had climbed to ninth, and Volt pitted with tyre issues. There was a thrilling fight for P3 between Junui Park, Tavano and Imberti. Then, in lap 12, Baldan pitted and retired with a broken rear suspension, and Ley inherited the lead; one lap later Imberti and Park came together, which helped Tavano to briefly move up to second, but Imberti repassed him. The top four positions seemed frozen, but in lap 17, Imberti’s car stopped on fire due to an oil leak; the safety car was deployed and one lap later the race was red-flagged with Ley the winner from Tavano, Park, Kim and Matteo Poloni who had recovered up to fifth from 26th on the grid.
Race 2 – The grid reversed the top eight in Qualifying, which meant Jacopo Cimenes was on pole. At the start, Cimenes was swallowed by the pack and dropped to fifth, while Junui Park jumped into the lead ahead of Tavano, Baldan and Imberti. The Korean driver benefited from the battle for P2 and built a gap, while Ley passed Denis Babuin for sixth in lap 3. Two laps later, Tavano dropped to fourth when both Baldan and Imberti moved ahead. Ley gained another place in lap 8, moving up to fifth ahead of Cimenes. One lap later, Ley passed Tavano as well for fourth.
Up front, Park held on to the lead until the end, winning from Baldan, Imberti and Ley.
DSG – Matteo Roccadelli (RPM Performance, CUPRA) won the first race ahead of Luca Franca (Aikoa Racing, Audi) and Alessandro Alcidi (Volkswagen Golf GTI). Alcidi then, won Race 2 with Franca second again and Mattia Lancellotti (ProRace, CUPRA) third. Franca leads the points with a margin of four ahead of Alcidi.
The championship will visit Pergusa on June 8/9, returning to Sicily after several years.
Misano – Race 1
- Alex Ley (Target Competition, Hyundai Elantra N), 16 laps
- Salvatore Tavano (Scuderia Girasole, CUPRA Leon VZ), 6.509
- Junui Park (Solite Indigo Racing, Hyundai Elantra N), 14.879
Misano – Race 2
- Junui Park (Solite Indigo Racing, Hyundai Elantra N), 13 laps
- Nicola Baldan (Aikoa Racing, Audi RS 3 LMS II), 2.451
- Michele Imberti (Kombat Motorsport, Hyundai Elantra N), 3.350
Championship points
- A. Ley, 82 pts; 2. J. Park, 79; 3. S. Tavano, 69.
Picture: ACI Sport
