Giacomo Ghermandi will return to TCR Europe for the next event at the Red Bull Ring, as MM Motorsport expands to three cars to accommodate the Italian.
Ghermandi, 40, has been an on-and-off racer in the European championship since 2021, although for 2025 his focus has been on TCR Eastern Europe, where he won his first-ever TCR race at the Red Bull Ring earlier in the season.
However, Ghermandi’s campaign came to a juddering halt at Most in July when he suffered from a high-speed accident, prompting him to take a month off to recover and miss the last TCR Eastern Europe event at the Slovakiaring.
Ghermandi will return to the series next week, having raced in the TCR Europe season opener at Portimão, with team-mates Marco Butti and Jacopo Cimenes in a third Honda run by MM Motorsport.
“I’m really happy to be able to return to TCR Europe, in a top-level and very stimulating environment,” said Bologna-based racer Ghermandi.
“We had a very positive start to the [TCR Eastern Europe] season, with a victory at the Red Bull Ring in the first race, but unfortunately the accident at Most, which forced me to a month-long stop and to miss the race at Slovakiaring, completely cut me off from any chance of fighting for the TCR Eastern Europe title.
“After undergoing the necessary rehabilitation, I finally received clearance from Dr. Ceccarelli to be able to race again.
“Logically, I’m not yet at 100% fitness, but I want to get back as soon as possible to put the ghosts of the accident behind me and get back into the rhythm of racing before the end of the season.
“I chose the Red Bull Ring because it’s a track I love and know well, where we’ve already achieved great results in the past.
“Furthermore, it was important to rejoin my team, which will already have Marco Butti, who is fighting for the championship, and Jacopo Cimenes, who did very well at Misano.
“From my point of view, I don’t have any particular expectations, also because in the past month I’ve only been able to work on the physical recovery of my back without being able to train.
“However, I’m sure that we will be able to navigate the pack well and have fun: there will be 26 cars on the grid, and there will certainly be no shortage of excitement!”