RALIUL CLUJULUI 2026: TEMPESTINI CLAIMS HOME VICTORY AFTER THRILLING TWO-SECOND BATTLE

TEMPESTINI HOLDS OFF MAIOR IN ONE OF THE CLOSEST FINISHES OF THE ROMANIAN RALLY SEASON

Simone Tempestini and co-driver Claudiu Poenaru secured victory at Raliul Clujului Star Lubricants 2026 after a dramatic fight that went down to the final stages.

The Romanian crew completed the event in a total time of 58m47.7s, finishing just 2.0 seconds ahead of Norbert Maior and Francesca Maior after a closely contested rally.

The battle for victory remained undecided until the finish, with Tempestini ultimately maintaining a narrow advantage to take the win on home roads around Cluj.

Norbert Maior delivered a strong performance throughout the rally and finished second overall, while Andrei Gîrtofan and Doru Pulpea completed the podium in third place, 1m15.0s behind the winners.

Sebastian Scîrlet and Sebastian Itu secured fourth position, followed by Andrei Gheorghiu and Adrian Brezoszki in fifth.

Further down the order, Bogdan Gheorghiu finished sixth ahead of Jean Tatu, Alexandra Teslovan and Reis Suliman, who all completed the event inside the overall top ten.

• Simone Tempestini and Claudiu Poenaru won the rally.

• Victory margin was just 2.0 seconds.

• Norbert Maior and Francesca Maior finished second.

• Andrei Gîrtofan and Doru Pulpea completed the podium.

• The top two crews were separated by only 2.0 seconds after the entire rally.

"Tempestini secured victory by just 2.0 seconds after one of the closest battles of the Romanian rally season."

TOP 10 OVERALL – RALIUL CLUJULUI STAR LUBRICANTS 2026

1. Simone Tempestini / Claudiu Poenaru (Škoda Fabia RS Rally2) – 58:47.7

2. Norbert Maior / Francesca Maior (Citroën C3 Rally2) – 58:49.7

3. Andrei Gîrtofan / Doru Pulpea (Škoda Fabia RS Rally2) – 1:00:02.7

4. Sebastian Scîrlet / Sebastian Itu (Renault Clio Rally3) – 1:02:18.6

5. Andrei Gheorghiu / Adrian Brezoszki (Renault Clio Rally3) – 1:04:09.1

6. Bogdan Gheorghiu / Mihai Onofrei (Renault Clio Rally3) – 1:04:33.6

7. Jean Tatu / Tudor Gaina (Renault Clio Rally3) – 1:05:41.8

8. Alexandra Teslovan / Marius Supuran (Peugeot 208 R2) – 1:06:05.4

9. Reis Suliman / Lee Moore (Renault Clio Rally5) – 1:07:00.6

10. Alexandru Pițigoi / Bogdan Iancu (Peugeot 208 Rally4) – 1:08:00.4