Niclas Taylor closes in on points lead with win in wet first Monza race
Niclas Taylor drove a perfect first TCR Italy race of the Monza season finale to claim victory despite a very wet track and a safety car session, closing in on title rivals Nicola Baldan and Ruben Volt.
Due to the heavy rainfall, the race was started behind the safety car and Canadian Audi driver Taylor took command of the race as soon as the massive 39-car field was let go.
Cupra driver Salvatore Tavano attacked Damiano Reduzzi for second place on the first lap and veered into the side of the Hyundai driver in the process. The incident saw Reduzzi sliding wide at the exit of Lesmo 2, dropping down to fifth place.
Points leader Nicola Baldan (Audi) struggled in the wet conditions from sixth place on the grid and was passed by Hyundai driver Alex Ley in the first part of the race.
Junesung Park was next up to pass Baldan for seventh place on lap six.
Davide Nardilli spun on his own at the exit of Turn 1 on lap seven, beaching his Cupra in the gravel and brought the safety car on track.
The race resumed on lap eight, with Baldan attacking Park to retake seventh place. But the joy was short lived for Baldan who soon dropped back to finish eighth.
The fight for second place kicked off during the last two laps between Tavano and Audi driver Teddy Clairet.
Clairet managed to pass Tavano on the last lap, only for Tavano to reclaim the position. But Clairet got a better exit in the final turn on the last lap, resulting in a drag race between the two to the finishing line.
While Taylor took a commanding win, Clairet managed to snatch second place by just 39 thousands of a second over Tavano.
ALM Motorsport driver Ruben Volt had a quiet race to finish fourth ahead of Reduzzi, Ley and Park.
Taylor’s win has brought the Canadian driver to a shared second place in the standings with Volt, trailing points leader Baldan by just five points ahead of the last race of the season which starts at 09:25 CEST on Sunday.
