Lando extends Eurocup lead after another powerful win
The Josef Kaufmann driver took his third win of the Championship before finishing off with another podium in the final race and it could have been better if he had kept a podium place in the second race but the ADD Motorsports-supported racer was delighted to have taken the points to extend his lead at the top of the standings to 22.5 points - with stronger tracks still to come.
He said: “It was a good weekend overall. I did well with the win and to stay second in the last race when I had damage to my car was a good effort. The only disappointment was the seventh place finish in the second race when I made a mistake when in third. But I’m pretty happy leaving Monza with a couple of podiums, especially after extending my lead in the standings.”
After good testing sessions on the Friday, Lando felt he was in good shape going into qualifying, but with four minutes left of qualifying he was seconds from a P2 when a red flag saw the lap taken away.
After going into the pit he went back out on his own – without the tow that which can make the difference at Monza – and impressively came through in P2 and P1.
Starting second in the first race, Lando got off to a great start, taking the lead on the first corner, he kept his calm to stay in front for the whole race to take his third win of the Championship.
The Somerset racer started from the front in the second race, but had dropped into third by lap two, the safety car came into play at the sixth lap and soon after Lando tried to make the most of the leaders vying for position, but was knocked and forced wide. It left him down in eighth position, although he made up one place by the end of the race.
Lando qualified in third for the final race, and had moved into second early on at the start of it, but as the middle car of a three-car shunt, he was left with damage to the front and rear of his car and did brilliantly to hold on to the position, defending well at the end. It left Lando on 119 points at the top of the standings – 22.5 points in front of second place.
He added: “We struggled a little for pace down the straights this weekend, although, overall, our pace was good. To get these points at Monza with stronger tracks still to come, puts me in a really good position for the title.
There’s a long way to go, but hopefully even better to come.”
