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Nicola Baldan scores victory in sensational opening race at Paul Ricard
06
June
2026

Nicola Baldan scores victory in sensational opening race at Paul Ricard

Nicola Baldan went from fourth to first in a race which featured six different race leaders at Circuit Paul Ricard, and saw the championship turned on its head once again, with Baldan’s team-mate Nicolas Taylor becoming the new points leader.

Andersson started from pole position in his Monlau Motorsport CUPRA and led the way into Turn 1, with Baldan up to second place by the first corner. Marco Butti then launched an attack at Turn 2, passing Baldan around the left side before going side-by-side with team-mate Andersson for the lead.

Butti had to slot in behind, while SP Compétition’s Mikhail Simonov was now up to third after a lightning start from seventh on the grid.

As the two Monlau CUPRAs again battled for the lead, with Butti passing Andersson, this opened the door for Simonov, who swept into the lead. The loss of pace from the two Monlau CUPRAs cost them a further position, as Mike Halder was able to pass them around the outside into Turn 1 at the start of the following lap.

Andersson and Butti were then passed by the flying French driver Victor Weyrich, who went through at Turn 2 to move up to third.

Simonov was now in control of the race, at least until lap four when the CUPRA driver slowed with a front-right puncture and pitted.

This put championship leader Halder into the lead, while Baldan was battling back after losing ground on the opening lap and was up to fourth ahead of the two Monlau CUPRAs.

Halder suffered a front-left puncture on lap seven and pitted for a replacement, which saw Weyrich assume the lead of the race for three laps before he was passed by a slipstreaming Baldan, the sixth different leader in just ten laps.

Baldan then maintained a slender gap to score his first win since Zolder 2024, and his second career victory, while Weyrich crossed the line to score second place—his first finish of the year after an unlucky run of four DNFs. Andersson picked up key points in third.

Ruben Volt finished fourth from 12th on the grid, ahead of Tiago Pernía and Nicolas Taylor, who were involved in an intense battle for fifth throughout the final part of the race.

The points for Taylor proved pivotal in lifting the Canadian to the lead of the championship, three points clear of Halder following the German's 17th-place finish after his puncture.

The second race of the weekend is scheduled for 10:15 CEST tomorrow, with BRC Racing Team’s Gabriele Covini starting from pole position ahead of new championship leader Taylor.


TCR Euro Series
NEXTGEN ENERGY SL
Edificio Leiro
Ctra. C-17 km 27 Despacho 14
08480 L´atmella del Valles
Barcelona
NIF- B42812503

CONTACTS:
TCR Euro Series: info@tcr-europe.com
Press Officer: neil@tcr-europe.com

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