TCR European Endurance returns to Misano for the season finale

The Misano World Circuit is ready to host the final round of the maiden TCR European Endurance season. After racing there last June, the series promoted by Mauricio Slaviero is heading back to the popular Italian circuit named after Marco Simoncelli, for what is shaping up to be a nail-biting ending to a thrilling championship fight.

Though most of the class titles have already been wrapped up during the season, the overall crown is in fact still up for grabs, as well as the Racing Spirit awards. Leading the way coming into the finale are Turgut Konukoglu and Eric Brigliadori (Audi RS3 LMS), who currently sit on top of the standings with 123 points after winning the first two races of the season. Behind the TEXACO Team AMS duo are the other two cars prepared by the Turkish outfit, with Gen-1 champions Barkin Pinar/Zekai Özen (Audi RS3 Gen-1) sitting in second with 102 points and DSG title winners Íbrahim Okyay/Seda Kaçan (Audi RS3 DSG) right behind them with 95 points. Mathematically, Sandro Pelatti (Audi RS3 TCR) is still a contender for the overall title too, thanks to his win last time out in Misano with PMA Motorsport alongside Franco Girolami.

Championship contenders aside, the entry list for the final round of the season features five more drivers ready to fight for the top step of the podium – with four of them making their debut in the series. After competing in the previous round with one car, Faro Racing decided to double their efforts and bring a second Volkswagen Golf TCR to the starting grid as part of the DSG category. The first one will be driven by Ottavio Cappelli, who was already part of the crew that won on their debut in the DSG class back in June, and Alessandro Brigatti, an experienced driver in competitive series such as the Clio Cup and the BMW M2 CS Cup. The other side of the garage will see none other than team manager Fabrizio Tablò put his helmet on and take matters into his own hands, as Faro Racing looks to fight for the class win once more. The final TCR European Endurance race of the year will also see a new team make its debut in the championship promoted by Mauricio Slaviero: Pro Race is in fact set to join the grid, bringing a Cupra Leon TCR with DSG gearbox to the table. The Roman outfit, which recently picked up the DSG Master title in TCR Italy, has selected Alessandro Lisi and Davide Nardilli, two drivers with prior TCR experience on their shoulders, to share the wheel of the team’s sole entry.

The action is scheduled to kick off on Friday, November 8th with free practice, as the teams will hit the track at 10:55 and 14:55; later the same day, the drivers will go head to head in qualifying, with the two 15-minute sessions starting at 18:00 local time. The season will then wrap up on Saturday, November 9th, as both stages lasting 55 minutes plus one lap will take place on the same day. Stage one is set to start at 9:00 local time, whereas the second part will see the green flag be waived at 17:35 – with the teams driving into the night to decide who will be crowned the overall champion for the very first time in the series’ history. Both stages will be broadcasted live on TCR TV’s YouTube channel, with commentary provided by Stefano Russo.