Franco Girolami has built an important lead heading into tomorrow’s season finale at Valencia after winning the first race of the weekend in style, taking the lead from the outside of the front row at the start and holding off countryman Ignacio Montenegro until the finish. Aurélien Comte completed the podium after a valiant charge from fifth, and all three drivers remain in contention for the 2024 title.

Girolami outdragged Montenegro’s Honda on the way down to Turn 1 and assumed the lead, while Viktor Andersson held on to third in his Lynk & Co ahead of Comte, who passed the slow-starting GOAT Racing Honda of Santiago Concepcíón.

This promoted guest driver Jenson Brickley up to fifth in his CUPRA, until Andersson slowed out of third on lap four with a driveshaft problem which promoted Comte up to third with Brickley chasing him down.

As the race went on, Girolami and Montenegro began to pull away from Comte, while Concepción overtook Brickley on lap six as the Spanish racer recovered from his poor start.

The safety car was called on lap 11 as the SP Compétition CUPRA of GIovanni Scamardi slowed and stopped on circuit at Turn 4.

The race restarted with a three-lap sprint to the finish, with Comte under intense pressure from Concepción, while Brickley was now under assault from Ruben Volt’s ALM Honda.

Comte and Concepción were in a brilliant fight for the final podium position, with Concepción chasing his first podium at his home race, briefly passing at Turn 1 on the final lap, before Comte was able to retake the spot at Turn 4.

At Turn 10, Brickley and Volt made contact, with Volt touching the side of the British driver’s CUPRA, sending him into a spin, for which Volt would receive a 30-second post-race penalty.

Girolami went on win the race by a second clear of Montenegro, with Comte four seconds back clinging on to the final podium position.

Girolami heads into the final tomorrow morning with a 19-point lead over Comte in the drivers’ standings, with Montenegro still in contention, 33 points behind with 40 left to play for.

ALM Motorsport have now secured the teams’ title with 656 points, while Monlau Motorsport now moves clear of SP Compétition for second place in the teams’ title.

The final race of the 2024 season gets underway at 11:55 CEST on Sunday.