Romain Monti has won the second race of the Competition102 GT4 European Series at Monza. The race was stopped by a red flag minutes before the end due to the stranded BMW M3 GT4 piloted by Tim Coronel. Therefore, the standings of the previous lap made the final result in which V8 Racing drivers Duncan Huisman and Jelle Beelen had not passed Monti’s Maserati GranTurismo MC GT4. The Dutch drivers were ranked second and third instead. Autorlando Sport’s Giovanelli Allessandro and Giuseppe Ghezzi won in the AM category, finishing fourth overall.
Andreas Gülden started from pole position and was chased by Lennart Marioneck and Marko Helistekangas, who are both part of the ‘Reiter Young Stars’ programme. Gülden defended but suddenly lost two positions to the KTM drivers because of problems with the power steering. Gülden brought the Sin R1 GT4 back to the pit lane for the driver change and told his team mate Hendrik Still what happened. But that was not all, as Still discovered another issue: “I tried to race without power steering, that’s possible. After one lap there was an electronic failure. I turned the main switch on and off, but the problem repeated frequently and I decided to bring the car back to the pits.”
After the mandatory pit stop Monti found himself in front and spotted the charging V8 Racing drivers in his mirrors. Monti’s advantage over the Dutch disappeared when the safety car was deployed. Doreen Seidel parked her KTM X-BOW GT4 in the gravel trap and therefore the race got neutralised.
With several minutes left a repeat of Saturday’s action-packed final laps was likely. Both Huisman and Beelen passed Monti on the main straight when the race was resumed. But the Italian driver did not give up and tried to regain positions. Before he could do that, the red flag was shown because Coronel’s car lost oil and caught fire, which was extinguished quickly.
The race result was made up by the standings of the previous lap, which resulted in the win for Monti. “During the safety car I knew it would be a tough job to stay in front because the Camaros are so quick on the straight”, said Monti. “After the restart I couldn’t do anything and so they passed me. Due to the red flag the race ended in my favour. I think I deserve the win and I’m very happy with it, especially after the team did a perfect job by fixing the gearbox problem.”
Huisman and team mate Luc Braams, who started from sixteenth, were ranked second. Beelen and Nooren were handed third place. A strong drive of Allessandro and Ghezzi resulted in fourth overall and first position in the AM division.
Ghezzi: “I had to start for the first time, but I received great guidance from my team mate up front. It went well and could overtake two cars later on. From there it was easy to control the car and handed it over to Giovanelli. We drove very consistent lap times and are very happy with the result.”
KTM X-BOW GT4 drivers Marioneck and team mate Tim Stupple finished in fifth and in front Ricardo van der Ende and Bernhard van Oranje who were second in the race on Saturday.
Behind Allessandro and Ghezzi in the AM category finished Allied Racing’s Jan Kasperlik and Dietmar Lackinger. Alessandro Fogliani and Patrick Zamparini, class winners of Saturday’s race, concluded the podium.
The next round of the Competition102 GT4 European Series takes place at the street track of Pau, France, held 13 – 15 May, 2016.
Competition102 GT4 European Series – Autodromo Nazionale Monza – 22-24 April 2016
Race 2:
1 Monti, Maserati Trofeo MC GT4, 20 laps in 45:02.297 minutes
2 Huisman / Braams, Chevrolet Camaro GT4, +0.196 seconds
3 Beelen / Nooren, Chevrolet Camaro GT4, +0.533
4 Giuseppe / Allessandro, Porsche 911 (997) GT4, +1.044
5 Marioneck / Stupple, KTM X-Bow GT4, +1.877
6 Van der Ende / Van Oranje, Ekris M4 GT4, +2.323
7 Kasperlik / Lackinger, BMW M3 GT4, +3.472
8 Anselmi / Sernagiotto, Maserati GranTurismo MC GT4, +3.793
9 Knap / Severs, Ekris M4 GT4, +3.981
10 Fogliani / Zamparini, Maserati GranTurismo MC GT4, +5.432
11 Grammatico, BMW M3 GT4, +5.901
12 Iazzetti, Maserati GranTurismo MC GT4, +6.175
13 Wood / Voelker, KTM X-Bow GT4, +6.924
14 Calamia / Fascicolo, Maserati GranTurismo MC GT4, +7.048
15 Jackson / Krebs, KTM X-Bow GT4, +7.395
16 Van Oranje / Coronel, BMW M3 GT4, +7.789
17 Terting / Rymes, Porsche Cayman PRO4 GT4, +8.377
18 Rathe / Freiburghaus, KTM X-Bow GT4, +8.910
19 Krahammer / Vandenbalck, KTM X-Bow GT4, +9.278
20 Struwe, Porsche Cayman PRO4 GT4, +10.512
21 Vinke / Vlok, KTM X-Bow GT4, +10.645
22 P. Chodzen / A. Chodzen, Maserati GranTurismo MC GT4, +21.507
23 Viebahn / Hansch, Porsche Cayman PRO4 GT4, +1 lap
24 Helistekangas / Seidel, KTM X-Bow GT4, +4 laps
25 Bloem / Demay, Aston Martin Vantage GT4, +6 laps
Not classified
Still / Guelden, Sin Cars Sin R1 GT4, +8 laps
Dreszer / Siljehaug, KTM X-Bow GT4
