Club Racing — news

Guy Albag and Lorenzo Ferrari dominated the third round of the 2026 Italian GT Endurance Championship at Imola, steering their Mercedes-AMG GT3 for Antonelli Motorsport to victory in the 3-hour race. The pair controlled the race from the opening lap, resisting four safety car periods and multiple full-course yellow phases without surrendering the lead. The win elevated them to the top of the GT3 absolute standings with 56 points heading into the season finale. Albag made a decisive move at the start, passing pole-sitter Jordan Perel to take command immediately. The Antonelli Motorsport crew maintained composure through the race's disruptions, crossing the line at the 100-minute mark to secure bonus points and never relinquishing first place through the chequered flag. The victory marks a significant shift in championship momentum with one round remaining. Spirit of Racing claimed the GT3 Pro-Am class and second place overall with Braschi-Ponzio-Rackstraw in a Ferrari 296 GT3, mounting a strong recovery from fourth on the grid. Stablemates Duran-Perel finished third, just 1.625 seconds behind, after a recovery drive that saw them climb from fifth position. Cola-De La Iglesia-Denes in a Lamborghini Huracán GT3 Evo2 for Imperiale Racing took fifth overall and retained the Pro-Am class lead by six points. In the GT3 Am category, Ryndziewicz-Altoè-Altoè won with a Ferrari 296 GT3 for Kessel Racing, moving to the top of the provisional standings. The previous leaders, Cuhadaroglu-Fumanelli-Pulcini, were forced to retire early after a race incident. The GT Cup saw Galli-Ferrara mathematically clinch the 1st Division Am title with one round to spare, while Agoglia-Bucci-Cremona took the 1st Division Pro-Am victory and moved into the class lead. The championship will conclude at Mugello on 1 November, where Albag-Ferrari arrive as leaders but with the title still to be decided across all categories.

The Automobile Club Caltanissetta has extended the entry deadline for the 71st Coppa Nissena hillclimb to 12:00 on Wednesday, 9 September 2026. The event, scheduled for 11–13 September, will serve as the decisive seventh round of the Italian Hillclimb Championship.

The Cividale-Castelmonte hillclimb is set to take place from Friday 2 to Sunday 4 October, marking the return of a fixture on Italy's autumn motorsport calendar. Organised by Scuderia Red White of Cividale, the event welcomes both modern and classic cars to compete on the mountain course. The 2024 edition runs one week earlier than the previous year's running, as preparations get underway for what remains a popular grassroots time attack venue in the Friuli-Venezia Giulia region.

Vogt and Basseng have secured a class victory and established a new track record during an RCN (Rennclub Nürburgring) event. The pair's performance marks a notable achievement in the club racing series, which focuses on amateur endurance competition at the Nürburgring circuit. The new lap record set during the outing underscores the competitive standard of the RCN grid and demonstrates the pace achievable by well-prepared machinery and experienced drivers in grassroots endurance racing.

Ralf Kraus and Tim Banerjee claimed their second consecutive podium finish at the sixth round of the Rundstrecken-Challenge Nürburgring (RCN), taking third place in the R3 class. The result capped a strong performance for Team Automobile Theisen, whose four Opel Astra OPC entries finished between third and seventh in class among 167 starters. Kraus held a top-three position from the start in car #48, reporting that the engine delivered full power throughout the rev range after issues in the previous round. Banerjee took over at the halfway point and maintained third place to the finish. "We would have needed rain to challenge the stronger Renault Clio for second," Banerjee explained, adding that despite sunny conditions, numerous accidents and Code 60 cautions disrupted the race. Simon Overmann and Holger Bruning finished fifth in class in car #50. Bruning, competing in what he described as his final RCN round of the season, praised the car's performance and expressed satisfaction with improvements made in two target sectors. Maya Niepenberg made her RCN debut as a starter driver, reporting that she gained confidence with each lap despite contact from other competitors during the race. Christopher Bartsch set the fastest lap time for the Theisen team—9:37.2 minutes—during his stint in car #649 in round 14. Jürgen Neuhoff and Jan Eisenburger completed the team's strong showing with seventh place in class in car #46. The series returns to the Nürburgring on 26 September for the seventh and penultimate round of the season.

The 2026 Polish Rallycross and Autocross Championships are entering their final stretch, with the penultimate round taking place at Autodrom Słomczyn near Warsaw on 12–13 September. The venue will host competitors from both the domestic championship and the FIA Central European Zone Rallycross series. Following recent rounds in the Czech Republic and Latvia, drivers return to Polish soil for what could be a decisive weekend in several categories. In the SuperCars class, Zbyszek Staniszewski holds a commanding lead and may secure the national title this weekend. However, competition remains fierce in the lower categories, with several battles likely to extend to the final round in Poznań. In the Seicento Cup, Jakub Kabat leads by eight points over Maksym Guranowski, while the RWD Cup features a tight contest between young drivers Kacper Sokulski and Krystian Pietraszko, separated by just five points. Łukasz Zoll continues his bid to break the dominance of Czech competitor Castorala, who currently holds a seven-point advantage. Beyond the Polish championship battles, the weekend will also feature races counting towards the FIA CEZ classification and the Czech Rallycross Cup, promising a competitive programme across multiple series.

The 68th Monte Erice hillclimb in Sicily was stopped following a serious accident involving multiple people. During the TCR class start sequence at 11:37, car number 54 driven by Marco Nicoletti went off track and lost control at checkpoint 9. The incident led to the suspension of the event.

The sixth round of the Rundstrecken-Challenge Nürburgring (RCN) 2026 took place under ideal conditions, with sunshine, a dry track and cool temperatures. Nearly 170 competitors tackled the 15-lap "Rhein-Ruhr" endurance test on the legendary Nürburgring Nordschleife. Michael Luther and Markus Schmickler (BMW M4 GT4) claimed their third overall victory of the season. "The driving was fantastic at the start and lap times were really quick," Luther reported. "Later, as traffic built up and there were some incidents, we just had to manage our lead." David Vogt (Opel Astra TCR), partnered this time by experienced co-driver Marc Basseng, crossed the line 35 seconds adrift. "We learned a lot and were quick again," Vogt said. Reinhold Renger and Marc Andreas Riedl (Porsche Cayman GT4 CS) completed the podium. The day's biggest story came in the championship standings. Sven Markert and Lars Harbeck (BMW 320i) won class H3 despite incurring a substantial time penalty for incorrectly executing their confirmation lap through a Code-60 zone. The Berlin pair's class victory was enough to move them to the top of the RCN championship table, displacing previous leaders Jens Schneider and Robin Reimer, who finished third in class R4. "We thought our championship hopes were over after we messed up the confirmation lap," Markert said. "So we were incredibly relieved when we saw the final result." RCN series manager Willi Hillebrand praised the turnout and conditions. "A strong grid in excellent weather, and the championship is wide open again. We're looking forward to the final rounds."

A club racing event at Salzburgring was marked by multiple interruptions and a dramatic incident as Alex Mohr secured victory in a race that required two separate restarts. The Austrian circuit hosted an eventful contest that saw the action halted twice during the running, disrupting the flow of competition. Among the notable moments was a significant crash involving a vehicle rollover, which contributed to one of the stoppages and added to the chaotic nature of the afternoon's racing. Despite the disruptions and challenging conditions, Mohr managed to navigate through the turbulent race to claim the top step of the podium at the Salzburg venue.

Five drivers separated by just five seconds set the tone for a closely contested Monte Erice hillclimb, with race day scheduled for Sunday. Luigi Fazzino topped the practice timesheets in his Osella PA30 Evo, posting 3'01"54 on the second timed run, but the field behind him is bunched tightly. Franco Caruso in a Nova Proto NP01 trails by only 76 hundredths of a second, while Francesco Conticelli, also driving a Nova Proto NP01, sits third, 2.41 seconds back. Achille Lombardi (Osella PA30) and Michele Puglisi (Nova Proto NP03) complete the top five, with Puglisi notably competitive despite running a 1150cc engine against the 3000cc machinery of his rivals. Practice conditions were warm and dry, drawing a substantial crowd to the Sicilian mountain course. Race director Fabrizio Fondacci and his deputy Francesco Sanclemente oversaw proceedings with strict safety protocols in place. Organisers expect a full house on Sunday as the event shapes up to be one of the most evenly matched editions in recent years. The 2024 Monte Erice counts towards both the Italian National Hillclimb Championship and the Italian Historic and Classic Hillclimb Championship. In the historic categories, Harald Mössler (Austria, Darek Mk3) led Group 1 practice in 3'50"67, Marcello Calandrino (Porsche 911 Carrera RSR) topped Group 2 in 3'55"39, Salvatore Caristi (Fiat 128) led Group 3 in 3'48"26, and Totò Riolo (PRC A6), the national championship leader, set the fastest Group 4 time of 3'32"00. Automobile Club Trapani, the event organiser, renewed its partnership with Rotary Trapani Erice for the "End Polio Now" campaign. At the finish area, spectators were invited to experience the Monte Erice course via a detailed simulator provided in collaboration with Sim Siciliarally. Race day begins at 08:00 with the first run, followed by a second timed ascent. The provincial road connecting Valderice and Erice will close to traffic from 05:30, with a brief window until 06:45 for essential journeys. Full closure takes effect from 07:00 until the official start.

Kris Meeke has taken a commanding lead at Rally Ceredigion, the penultimate round of the FIA European Rally Championship, after a strong Saturday performance. The Toyota driver capitalised on a mistake by Teemu Suninen on the opening stage of the day to build a 20.5-second advantage heading into Sunday's final four stages. Miko Marczyk holds third place, with fellow Polish driver Jakub Matulka in fourth. Meeke's breakthrough came on the opening stage of Saturday morning, the 12.02 km Aberffrwd test. The Irishman set the fastest time while Suninen, driving a Škoda Fabia RS Rally2, spun on the exit of a tight right-hand corner and lost over 10 seconds. The incident handed Meeke an 11.9-second gain. Suninen fought back on the 20.71 km Cwm Elan stage, posting a time 5.7 seconds faster than Meeke to reduce the deficit to seven seconds before the midday service in Aberystwyth. However, Meeke regained the initiative over the remaining stages, winning three consecutive tests to extend his lead to 19.4 seconds before the final double pass through the Aberystwyth street stage, where he finished 20.5 seconds clear. Despite losing the lead, Suninen remains in a strong position to secure his first ERC title. The Finn can clinch the championship on Sunday if he finishes second or higher, provided that Andrea Mabellini—his only remaining rival for the crown—finishes no higher than seventh and scores no more than one point on the Power Stage. Mabellini currently sits seventh, over a minute behind the leader. Marczyk trails Meeke by 41.5 seconds, holding a 27.5-second buffer over Matulka. Max McRae occupies fifth place in a Fabia RS Rally2, eight seconds behind Matulka and on course for his best ERC result to date. In the ERC3 category, Ville Vatanen leads in a Ford Fiesta Rally3 and needs only to finish the rally to secure the title. The FIA ERC4 and Junior ERC battle remains tight, with Timo Schulz holding a 0.8-second advantage over Tom Heindrichs after the Aberystwyth street stage repeats. Sunday's finale comprises four stages totalling 63.80 km, beginning with the 20.64 km Gorsgoch test at 08:15 local time, followed by Ty Glyn, a repeat of Gorsgoch, and a final pass through Ty Glyn as the Power Stage.

Alberto Scarafone has secured the Italian Supersalita (hillclimb) championship at the 61st edition of the Trofeo Luigi Fagioli, held on the roads of Gola del Bottaccione near Gubbio in Umbria. The event, often referred to as the "Monte Carlo of hillclimbs," served as the opening finale of the 2026 Italian Supersalita Championship season. The 4,150-metre course climbs from Gubbio to Madonna della Cima. Scarafone's victory on a perfect late-August Sunday confirmed his status as the championship's leading contender as the season progresses.