Academy Motorsport experienced a tough round in Germany, but they were able to retain the championship lead in EuroNASCAR 2 prior to the final showdown at Zolder.
The NASCAR GP Germany at Motorsport Arena Oschersleben proved to be a tough one for Academy Motorsport, but the Italian team still managed to retain their lead in the EuroNASCAR 2 championship.
Academy got off to a good start on Friday after team co-owner Federico Monti, who is the sole driver for the No. 1 Ford Mustang in Germany, scored a podium finish in the Club Challenge division.
Saturday’s Qualifying session was where things started to go awry. Vladimiros Tziortzis began to experience engine issues in the EuroNASCAR PRO Qualifying session and wasn’t able to set a competitive lap time as a result.
The team chose to have Tziortzis sit out the EuroNASCAR 2 Qualifying session so that they can change the engine on his car. Unfortunately, the issues weren’t solved yet as Tziortzis was running eight to nine seconds off the pace in the EuroNASCAR PRO race that followed.
He retired after six laps and Academy’s mechanics, now joined by Vict Motorsport’s mechanics, scrambled to fix the issue before the Saturday EuroNASCAR 2 race. Despite their best efforts, no solution was found and the Cypriot was forced to not even start the race.
The problems were cured by the time the Sunday EN2 race was scheduled to take place. The team took their place in the starting grid with high hopes, but a 10-second time penalty for contact with Dominique Schaak meant that Tziortzis was only able to finish 12th.
The results weren’t any better in the second EuroNASCAR PRO race either. The Cypriot was only 17th after he had a self-induced spin late in the race.
Despite the setbacks, Tziortzis managed to retain his position in the standings – including the championship lead in EuroNASCAR 2, which he now leads by three points from Alberto Naska.
With the weekend at Oschersleben now over, Federico Monti will be focusing Academy’s efforts for the season finale on 14-15 October. With double points and the EuroNASCAR 2 championship on the line, he knows that the stakes will be extremely high at Zolder.
“The Club Challenge race was more complicated than expected given the high number of cars on the track, but I was able to drive well and get on the podium,” said Monti on his thoughts for the Oschersleben weekend.
“Thanks to all the guys for the work done. Vladimiros always fought hard in the two races held. Maybe we lacked a little bit in the final results, but it’s crucial to still be at the top of the championship. Now we have three weeks to prepare for the final round in Zolder where there’s a lot at stake.”
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