A lengthy Safety Car due to adverse weather at Mugello wrecked Carlotta Fedeli strategy at the last round of the Italian TCR DSG Endurance championship.
After a very positive Saturday, which ended with the sprint qualifying race victory and thus the pole position for the Sunday's race, the Cupra Girasole team duo Barberini-Fedeli endured a difficult last Italian TCR DSG Endurance round at Mugello due to adverse weather conditions.
The race, initially scheduled for 09:00 on Sunday morning, was started behind the Safety Car for reduced visibility as the fog had invaded the racetrack.
Some teams, including the #33 Cupra crew, opted to change the initial strategy and carried out the two mandatory 5 minutes pit stops immediately, in order to have an uninterrupted final stint.
When the green flag finally was waved on the Tuscany circuit after more than 40 minutes, Cosimo Barberini held the virtual first position but few laps later another Safety Car was called out and a misunderstanting between the hometown driver and his Cupra Team forced Carlotta Fedeli to get behind the wheel without much notice, as they lost more time and positions.
With 45 minutes to go, race control inflicted a 25" penalty to Carlotta Fedeli for a contact with Giuseppe Montalbano's Audi, the latter having previously caused a visible damage to the #33 Cupra rear.
Barberini signed a strong final stint of the race by posting the fastest lap, but misfortune hit again when the #33 car suffered a puncture.
Fedeli and Barberini ended the race in 13th place.
Despite unlucky rounds at Misano, Imola and now Mugello, Carlotta Fedeli and her teammate were able to compete for the championship title until the penultimate race: they nonetheless completed a very competitive 2019 season as undoubtedly one of the top teams in the Italian TCR Endurance series.
Ph credits: Racers-BehindtheHelmet.com