Nicola Baldan wins Monza Race 2 and takes the points lead
Nicola Baldan is the new leader of TCR Italy after the third event of the championship at Monza. In a weekend with torrid temperatures that saw a lot of drivers being hit by technical or tyre issues, including Baldan himself in Race 1 won by Matteo Poloni, the Aikoa Racing driver scored a crucial victory in Race 2.
Thanks to the retirement of his main rival, last year champion Nicolas Taylor, Baldan has moved on top of the Drivers’ championship, 29 points ahead of Taylor, while Pietro Alessi is still lying third, 52 points behind.
In the DSG championship, Eric Brigliadori has claimed another pair of wins, stretching his lead to 25 points ahead of his teammate Matteo Roccadelli.
Race 1 – Baldan had set his first pole of the season, leading a quintet of Audi cars, with Alessi, Poloni, Filippo Barberi and Taylor behind him. Baldan started well, leading from Alessi and Taylor who had passed Poloni for P3. In lap 2, Baldan and Alessi made contact and Alessi took the lead. Tyre issues forced Barberi who was fifth, Alex Ley and Gabriele Covini to early pit stops; the same happened to Baldan in lap 6.
One lap later, Alessi missed the first chicane and rejoined behind Poloni, with Taylor just behind. In lap 8, a collision between Michał Bartoszuk and Sandro Pelatti resulted in the damaged Audi of the Italian driver stopped on track at the Ascari esses. The safety car was deployed until the end of lap 10. Poloni built a small gap and went to take his first win of the season, while Alessi kept Taylor at bay to finish second. Behind the three Audi cars, Jacopo Cimenes drove his Honda to P4.
Race 2 – Marco Pellegrini and Francesco Cardone shared the front row, with Pellegrini who led at the start from Taylor and Cimenes. During the second lap, Taylor retired with an overheating engine, while Cimenes was under pressure from Baldan and Alessi. In lap 4, Baldan overtook Cimenes for second and soon afterwards, Cimenes went into the gravel at Lesmo with a flat tyre. In lap 6, Barberi and Pelatti came together at the Prima Variante; Pelatti spun and lost several positions, while Barberi continued, knowing he had a ten-second penalty. In lap 7, the leader Pellegrini too experienced a flat tyre, and on the following lap it was Alessi’s turn. Baldan kept on leading, with Barberi close behind.
Baldan held on to the lead and claimed his second win of the season; Barberi was second under the flag, but was dropped to fifth by the penalty, which promoted Cardone and Bartoszuk to their first podium finishes.
DSG – SF Squadra Corse’s Eric Brigliadori and Matteo Roccadelli continued their domination adding two other 1-2 finishes to their loot. In Race 1 they started from the front row, led the field and pulled away easily. Far away behind them, Mattia Lancellotti held the third place until lap 9, when he had to pit with a flat front tyre. This promoted Paolo Maria Silvestrini onto the third step of the podium. The second race was livelier with a fair battle for the lead between Lancellotti and the SF pair. Lancellotti lost contact in lap 7, when his car stopped and he had to restart the engine. Brigliadori went to take his fourth win ahead of Roccadelli and Gustavo Sandrucci.
The Italian championships will resume on 1/3 August at Imola.
Race 1
- Matteo Poloni (Gear Works, Audi RS 3 LMS), 14 laps
- Pietro Alessi (BF Motorsport, Audi RS 3 LMS), 1.175
- Nicolas Taylor (PMA Motorsport, Audi RS 3 LMS), 1.543
Race 2
- Nicola Baldan (Aikoa Racing, Audi RS 3 LMS), 16 laps
- Francesco Cardone (Aikoa Racing, Audi RS 3 LMS), 5.858
- Michał Bartoszuk (MM Motorsport, Honda Civic Type R FL5), 6.881
Championship points - SEQ
- N. Baldan, 232 pts; 2. N. Taylor, 203; 3. P. Alessi, 180
Championship points - DSG
- E. Brigliadori, 240 pts; 2. M. Roccadelli, 215; 3. G. Sandrucci, 192.
Picture: ACI Sport
