V-Action Racing, which announced in February it planned to run two Giuliettas in TCR Italia this year, only confirmed Ferrari as its first signing a couple of weeks ago.

Then Team Principal Daniele Verrucchio, said at the time: “Gigi is a great driver and the Alfa Romeo is a fantastic car with the potential to win. It is a combination that makes us confident enough to aim for the Italian title. We have developed an excellent relationship with the Romeo Ferraris engineering and we are proud to undertake the commitment of making the national colours successful in the TCR Italy championship."

It was a logical deal to come together as Ferrara had already driven the team’s Giulietta in two events last year, in the TCR Germany’s and TCR Italy’s finales, held at Hockenheim and Monza, respectively.

For the season opener at Imola however V-Action Racing scaled back their plans and turned up with one car. “Our plan was to field two cars,” Verrucchio explained. “However, we have preferred to focus on a single entry, at least for the time being. The competition in TCR Italy is growing quickly and we don’t want to waste our efforts.”

It turned out to be a perfect first race of the season for Ferrera and V-Action Racing after they raced to an albeit slight unexpected but well-deserved maiden win in the incident-packed opener at Imola, which only yielded a few race laps because of two Safety Car periods.

Salvatore Tavano (SEAT Cupra) took second in his return to racing, beating the Pit Lane Competizioni Audi of Enrico Bettera, in a breath-taking final sprint.

The start offered some drama, as Nicola Baldan stalled from the front row; pole sitter Eric Scalvini took the lead ahead of Ferrara, Marco Pellegrini (Target Competition Honda), Bettera and Plamen Kralev (Kraf Racing Audi). During the first lap there was a contact between Peter Gross and the Walter Margelli; they both hit the barriers, prompting the safety-car. The first lap was also fatal for the Honda of Davide Nardilli, who retired with a broken driveshaft.

At the restart, with 12 minutes of race left, Ferrara began pressing on Scalvini, while Kralev, Bettera and Pellegrini fought for third, but the race was again disrupted by the Safety Car when Pellegrini crashed at the Variante Alta; seconds later Alessandro Thellung and Gabriele Volpato collided in the same spot while the leader Scalvini retired with throttle problems.

Ferrara inherited the lead for the final lap, which saw tough fights for the positions: Massimiliano Gagliano and Francesco Savoia collided, while Bettera punted Kralev off at Rivazza 1. Tavano won a photo-finish sprint with Bettera for second. Federico Paolino crossed the line in fourth, but was dropped to 16th for overtaking under yellow, leaving the positions to José Rodrigues and Andrea Larini. Giovanni Altoè won the DSG class, taking eighth overall. 

Ferrara rounded a perfect weekend for himself and the V-Action Racing Team by bringing the Giulietta home to a second win in Race 2 of the TCR Italia season-opener. The all-Italian package beat the Audi RS3 LMS of Bettera and the Cupra of Larini.

Race 2, which started behind the safety-car because a sudden shower a few minutes before formation lap and with Altoè on pole on the reverse grid, was an intense and breathtaking show on a drying track from the moment the cars were released and offered many close duels, incidents and off-tracks.

Altoè kept the lead only for a few corners, with Austria’s Jürgen Schmarl (Target Competition Honda Civic) succeeding him for a short while, before being passed by an inspired Lorenzo Nicoli. The driver of the MM Motorsport Honda Civic had to serve a drive-through because of an infringement during the Safety Car period, dropping to P23.

Larini then took the lead ahead of José Rodrigues, Schmarl, Ferrara and Bettera. The Alfa Romeo was clearly the fastest and most effective car on track and seven minutes from the end, Ferrara took the lead, with a perfect overtake on Larini.

Also charging from the back was Bettera, who secured second over Larini in the penultimate lap, while Matteo Greco, Baldan, Rodrigues (victim of a spectacular high-speed excursion on the grass) completed the top six, and Altoè (7th) repeated success in the DSG class.

The race was red-flagged in the last lap because of an accident in the straight between Volpato and Kralev, which left many debris and the cars stranded on the track.

TCR Italia will resume at Le Castellet in a week and a half’s time.