Pellegrini wins chaotic wet first race at Monza

Despite losing the pole position because of a grid penalty he was given during he previous event, Marco Pellegrini emerged as the winner in a chaotic first race of TCR Italy’s finale at Monza.
On a wet track and under pouring rain, several drivers elected to start with a mix of slick tyres at the front and rain tyres at the rear. In the first stages those who have chosen a full set of rain tyres had the advantage, but towards the end of the race the choice of a mixed set paid off.
At the start, Guidetti took the lead while there were two different incidents: Nikola Miljiković clashed with Lev Tolkachev who spun on the straight, while another contact before the first chicane eliminated the Hyundai cars of Felice Jelmini and Damiano Reduzzi.
All on rain tyres, Guidetti, Sandro Pelatti and Miljković filled the top three positions, while Massimiliano Mugelli pitted for changing the tyres and when rejoined he crashed with Pelatti at the first chicane, prompting the safety car into action.
During the neutralization Guidetti and Miljković, who were first and second, served drive through penalties for jumping the start and for the incident with Tolkachev respectively. Despite this, Guidetti retained the lead when racing resumed on lap 7, ahead of Salvatore Tavano, Nicola Guida and Matteo Greco. Miljković quickly moved into second, but both him and Guidetti were forced to repeat the drive through, as they had served it during the safety car period.
Following the penalties, Enrico Bettera found himself in the lead, followed by Pellegrini and Guidetti. On lap 10, Pellegrini overtook Bettera for the lead; Guidetti too tried to pass Bettera for P2, but made another mistake at the first chicane and had to settle in third position ahead of Greco and Guida who won the DSG class.
The second race will start at 12:00 CET with Reduzzi and Greco sharing the front row on the top-eight reversed grid; live streaming at www.tcr-series.com and www.tcr-series.tv.

Race 1
1. Marco Pellegrini (Target Competition, Hyundai i30 N), 12 laps
2. Enrico Bettera (PitLane Competizioni, Audi RS 3 LMS), 1.189
3. Jacopo Guidetti (BF Motorsport, Audi RS 3 LMS), 2.389
4. Matteo Greco (Scuderia del Girasole, CUPRA), 28.348
5. Nicola Guida (BF Motorsport, Audi RS 3 LMS DSG), 35.855

Championship points
1. Tavano 160 pts; 2. Bettera 126; 3. Pellegrini 124