Two weeks after Imola, the Clio Cup Series returned to Emilia-Romagna to mark the mid-season point at Misano. On Friday, Gabriele Torelli set the pace in the first practice session, as did David Pouget in the final one before qualifying.

Race 1 : Rangoni Corse and Torelli again

David Pouget continued his momentum on Saturday, taking the pole position ahead of Gaël Castelli, who served a four-place grid drop after an incident at Imola. Alex Lancellotti (GPA Racing) was promoted to the front row, followed by Nicolas Milan (Milan Compétition), Gabriele Torelli and Filip Kunčer (Milan Compétition).

David Pouget retained the lead at the start, while Alex Lancellotti was overtaken by Nicolas Milan before running wide and colliding with his rival at turn four. Gabriele Torelli and Gaël Castelli took advantage of this to tuck in behind David Pouget, with Gabriele Torelli moving into first place on lap two. However, Gaël Castelli squeezed in between the two men and went on the offensive to become the third different race leader on lap three.

The Italian responded immediately before the order at the front stabilised. Behind the leading trio, Alex Lancellotti lost out to Nicolas Milan for fourth place. However, it was back to square one after a brief safety car period following a collision between Horn (GPA Racing) and Nava (MC Motortecnica).

Gabriele Torelli controlled the restart and held off a strong challenge from Gaël Castelli to take the win ahead of the Frenchman, closely followed by David Pouget and Nicolas Milan. Sixteenth on the grid, Anthony Jurado (Rangoni Corse) inherited fifth place after penalties to Filip Kunčer for not respecting track limits and Alex Lancellotti for his role in the opening-lap incident. Ronnie Stefani (Rangoni Corse) was first in the Junior category and seventh overall, followed by Giacomo Trebbi (MC Motortecnica), Ben Colburn (Westbourne Motorsport) and Nikola Tošić (Rangoni Corse). Cristian Ricciarini (Essecorse) took the top spot among the Gentlemen.

Race 2 : Castelli breaks his duck

Gaël Castelli secured his first pole position in the Clio Cup Series on Sunday, and the first of 2025 for Milan Compétition. The Frenchman was ahead of Alex Lancellotti, David Pouget, Anthony Jurado and Gabriele Torelli at the end of a particularly hard-fought session, with the top 17 drivers covered by less than a second.

At dusk, Gaël Castelli got off to a great start, whilst Anthony Jurado jumped into second place ahead of David Pouget, Gabriele Torelli and Filip Kunčer after Alex Lancellotti struggled when the lights went off. The leader quickly pulled away, but a safety car period after an incident that eliminated Ronnie Stefani erased his advantage. Under threat at the restart, Gaël Castelli took advantage of the duel between Anthony Jurado and Gabriele Torelli to get some breathing space.

The battle intensified throughout the field. A collision between David Pouget and Gabriele Torelli on lap eight saw the Frenchman slip to seventh place as he tried to give the position back. Filip Kunčer took advantage to move into the top three before turning up the pressure on Anthony Jurado. However, the Montenegrin lost a lot of ground after heavy contact with Gabriele Torelli.

Already a multiple single-make cup winner, Gaël Castelli cruised to his maiden Clio Cup Series victory ahead of Anthony Jurado. Penalised for exceeding track limits, Gabriele Torelli dropped from third to eighth. Challenger Alex Lancellotti was thus promoted to the podium ahead of Nicolas Milan, Gentleman Cristian Riccarini, Filip Kunčer and David Pouget. Junior Damiano Puccetti (Rangoni Corse) snatched ninth place from Giacomo Trebbi in a thrilling duel that went right to the chequered flag.

Clio Cup Series

David Pouget still leads the Clio Cup Series, but his advantage is now just 85 points following wins for Gabriele Torelli and Gaël Castelli. The gaps are also tightening in the team classification, with Rangoni Corse and Milan Compétition closing in on GPA Racing. In the Junior class, Mauro Polderman (AST Compétition) saw his lead reduced after a weekend marked by victories for Nikola Tošić and Damiano Puccetti. Challenger Ben Colburn suffered the same fate after wins for Filip Kunčer and Alex Lancellotti. In the Gentlemen category, leader Laurent Dziadus enjoyed a productive weekend with a victory on Saturday and second place on Sunday behind Mickaël Carrée (T2CM).

Clio Cup Italia

With both wins in Clio Cup Italia, Gaël Castelli now trails leader Alex Lancellotti by just 22 points. Lancellotti remains at the top of the Challengers standings after sharing the wins with Giacomo Trebbi, who is third in the general classification. Damiano Puccetti reclaimed the lead in the Junior category from Vladimir Lobachev (AST Compétition) by winning on Sunday in a category where Ronnie Stefani had impressed the day before. Cristian Ricciarini won both races in the Gentlemen category, moving to within 12 points of Stephan Polderman (AST Compétition). Clio Cup Italia returns to action at the Circuit Paul Ricard from 3 to 5 October.

Clio Cup France

Clio Cup France also reached the halfway point of its season at Misano. Unbeaten so far, David Pouget scored his fifth consecutive victory on Saturday before seeing his streak broken by Anthony Jurado on Sunday. On the strength of his first success this season, Anthony Jurado climbs to second place overall ahead of Laurent Dziadus, who remains the leader among the Gentlemen after sharing the honours this weekend with Mickaël Carrée. Ronan Deslandes (T2CM) took a big step towards the Junior title with his second brace of victories in three race weekends.

After beginning the summer in Italy, the Clio Cup Series heads to Circuit Nevers Magny-Cours for round six from 1-3 August. Clio Cup France and Clio Cup Mid-Europe will also be on the programme for this final meeting before the summer break.

Results - Clio Cup Series - Clio Cup Italia - Clio Cup France