Pouget wins on Italian soil at Misano

Round six of the Clio Cup Series calendar featured 29 competitors and 28 cars at the Misano World Circuit, which also hosted round three of the Clio Cup Italia season. 

From collective testing, the MC Motortecnica team set the pace with Challenger Giacomo Trebbi, followed by Racer Luca Franca. While qualifying was dominated for a long time by Mattia Lancellotti (Faro Racing), Luca Franca took the pole position from his countryman in the final minute of the session with a time of 1:53.325s. David Pouget, Alex Lancellotti (Faro Racing) and Giacomo Trebbi completed the top five. 

In the sweltering heat and air temperatures approaching 40°C, Luca Franca was overtaken by Mattia Lancellotti and David Pouget when the lights went out. Despite a brush with Luca Franca and a scare at the end of the first sequence, Mattia Lancellotti kept the lead over David Pouget and Luca Franca. Behind the leading trio, Giacomo Trebbi got the better of Alex Lancellotti while Francesco Savoia (Progetto E20 Motorsport) found his way past Jerzy Spinkiewicz (Uniq Racing) and Cristian Ricciarini (Essecorse). 

In a tight lead group, David Pouget surprised Mattia Lancellotti, taking the lead on his first attack. The Frenchman went wide at the next bend but held on to his advantage while Luca Franca was opportunistic enough to get between his two rivals. Further back, Jerzy Spinkiewicz passed Francesco Savoia and Alex Lancellotti before being followed by Cristian Ricciarini, who overtook him on lap six. In a field full of confrontations, Leonardo Arduini (MC Motortecnica) and Alex Lancellotti took advantage to regain the upper hand over the Pole before the latter had to pit due to a deflated tyre. 

Initially hot on the heels of Luca Franca, David Pouget gradually extended his lead as the race progressed, setting the fastest lap race lap in the process. The hierarchy continued to evolve behind him, particularly in the battle for third place, where Giacomo Trebbi took advantage of a long drifting slide by Mattia Lancellotti to seal his overtake in one of the circuit's trickiest corners with three laps to go.  

After 13 laps of relentless action, David Pouget sealed his win, five seconds clear of Luca Franca, winner among the Racers. Challenger Giacomo Trebbi completed the podium ahead of Mattia Lancellotti, who was under pressure from Cristian Ricciarini right up to the chequered flag.  In another hard-fought battle, Leonardo Arduini finished sixth ahead of Alex Lancellotti and Jacopo Giuseppe Cimenes (Essecorse). Alessandro Alcidi (Tuder Motorsport) came home in ninth place ahead of Francesco Savoia, who rounded off the top ten despite pressure from his pursuers in the final minutes of the race. 

With his third win of the season, David Pouget increases his lead in the Clio Cup Series. Today's runner-up, Luca Franca moves up to seventh place, while Giacomo Trebbi moves closer to the top ten in the general classification thanks to his podium finish today.

CLIO CUP ITALIA

With his victory among the competitors in the Italian group, Luca Franca is the first two-time victor of the season in Clio Cup Italia, where he takes the lead thanks to his win over Challengers Giacomo Trebbi and Mattia Lancellotti. Now a four-time winner in the Racers Cup, with victory over Alex Lancellotti and Alessandro Alcidi, the Italian has also extended his lead in the Racers Cup. In the Challengers Cup, Giacomo Trebbi moves to within five points of leader Mattia Lancellotti after his win today.  

The field will regroup Sunday morning for the second qualifying session at 9:30 am, followed by race two of this Italian weekend at 3:25 pm, streamed live on the Renault Clio Series Facebook page and YouTube channel.

Collective tests 1 - Collective tests 2 - Qualifying 1 - Starting grid - Race 1