Good debut for Alfa Romeo Giuliettas TCR by Romeo Ferraris in the TCR Italy at Monza.

The two cars built at Opera have taken part in first of the three outings scheduled for this end-of-season. Next month, the cars from V-Action Racing Team will also compete at Hockenheim in TCR Germany and again in the TCR Italy, at Monza.

For the first outing at Imola, the cars were driven by Giacomo Altoè and Joakim Darbom, who finished in the top-5 in the Race 1 and Race 2, respectively, after fighting for the podiums. On Friday, in qualifying, the Alfa Romeo Giulietta TCR of the Italian took fourth on the grid for the first race, while in Q2, the Swede took P3, with Altoè in P5 only 3 tenths behind.

Race 1 proved unlucky for Altoè, whose raced ended when he was hit by a rival at the Tamburello corner, while Darbom climbed from fifth row to fourth position, fighting for the podium and eventually crossing the finish line in fifth, after losing one position in the closing phases. Race 2 on Sunday was dominated by the extremely bad weather, with the race post-poned and shortened, and then started behind the safety-car for a long while. Only three full race laps could be contested, with Altoè taking fifth after close fighting with Comini, and Darbom ninth.

Michela Cerruti, Romeo Ferraris Operations Manager
“We had the potential to go on the podium in both races, but things did not go as expected, which is what makes motorsports interesting… Still, I am very satisfied of this weekend. The partnership with V-Action Racing Team proved that we have already laid the base for a successful long-term programme, and that we can achieve great things in the forthcoming events. Imola has always been one of my favorite tracks and not racing there was painful, but I could support Giacomo and Joakim during the whole weekend. It’s a pity to have had such heavy rain on Sunday, this has changed everything, but both drivers proved that our Alfa Romeo Giuliettas TCR are very fast”.