Tavano under investigation after Imola’s Race 2 win

Salvatore Tavano may have moved a further step closer to a second consecutive TCR Italy title with an authoritative victory in Imola’s Race 2. Especially because his rivals in the title fight – Marco Pellegrini and Matteo Greco – were classified eighth and tenth.
However, the reigning champion is currently under investigation for a collision with Pellegrini at the Tosa bend. The very same corner where another contact in lap 14 decided the fight for the second place between Jacopo Guidetti and Igor Stefanovski who finished in the order behind Tavano; an incident that is also under investigation.
Pellegrini and Tavano – who shared the front row of the grid – began fighting from the start and made contact a first time while negotiating the Tamburello chicane. Pellegrini took the lead, but Tavano passed him at the Piratella during the first lap, while Race 1 winner Enrico Bettera was sent into a spin by Greco and rejoined at the back.
Tavano and Pellegrini clashed again at the Tosa in lap 5, the latter went wide and dropped to sixth. Pellegrini lost more positions in the following lap when he went off and rejoined in 11^th position.
Tavano built a gap benefiting from the battle behind him between Stefanovski, Felix Wimmer, Guidetti and Greco. Wimmer was called back into the pits by the black-and-orange flag to fix the bonnet that was loose, Greco went off at the Tamburello while trying to overtake Guidetti and the latter passed Stefanovski for second after a contact in the penultimate lap.
Tavano took the chequered flag with a margin of 2.5 seconds over Guidetti, with Stefanovski third and Massimiliano Mugelli fourth after a great recovery from the 15^th position on the grid. Greco was dropped to tenth by a 25-second penalty for the incident with Bettera who recovered to finish sixth.
In the championship standings, Tavano has increased his leading margin to 32 points over Pellegrini. But now the Stewards will have the last word.
The next event of TCR Italy will be at Vallelunga in two-week time.

Race 2
1. Salvatore Tavano (Scuderia del Girasole, CUPRA), 15 laps
2. Jacopo Guidetti (BF Motorsport, Audi RS 3 LMS), 2.565
3. Igor Stefanovski (Stefanovski racing Team, CUPRA), 3.285
4. Massimiliano Mugelli (PRS Motorsport, Alfa Romeo Giulietta), 5.508
5. Eric Scalvini (Scuderia del Girasole, CUPRA DSG), 8.609

Championship points
1. Tavano 132 pts; 2. Pellegrini 100; 3. Greco 91