Following a strong weekend at the Prototype Cup Europe in Monza, the German Motor Sports Team has taken the lead in the standings.
The third race weekend of the Prototype Cup Europe took place on the high-speed Italian circuit at Monza. The German Motor Sports Team fielded two LMP3 prototypes for the first time, with a Duqueine D09 making its debut alongside the familiar Ligier JS P325.
Valentino Catalano and Danny Soufi secured pole position in the Ligier for both races. In the first race, Catalano initially pulled clear at the front but lost the lead during the pit stop, as the car had a longer stop time due to an all-Silver crew and time bonuses from the previous race. In the second half of the race, American driver Danny Soufi was then involved in a spectacular battle for victory and finished the race in second place after a thrilling final phase.
In the second race, Catalano and Soufi drove to a commanding victory. Starting from pole position, the duo won by a margin of over eleven seconds. Catalano underlined this dominance by setting the fastest lap of the race.
Oscar Tunjo and Jake Williamson drove the Duqueine at Monza. Throughout the race weekend, the two drivers had to contend with problems with the 3.6-litre V6 twin-turbo Toyota engine, which hampered their performance. As a result, they could only manage seventh and eighth places in the two races. Tunjo’s comeback in the first half of Sunday’s race was particularly spectacular, as he managed to move up from eighth to fourth place.
Thanks to a strong weekend at Monza, Valentino Catalano has taken the lead in the Prototype Cup Europe standings. In the team standings too, the GMS Team – managed by GEBHARDT Motorsport – has taken the top spot in northern Italy.
“What a brilliant weekend for Valentino and Danny at Monza – congratulations to them both! We’re delighted that Valentino has taken the lead in the championship. We’ll be working hard to ensure he can be crowned champion at Spa. Unfortunately, Oscar and Jake struggled with problems throughout the weekend; we’ll be analysing these to ensure we can resolve them,” said Fritz Gebhardt.
