Max Lanza recounts his view of his big crash at American SpeedFest 12, stating that the incident “happened so fast” and is grateful to walk away uninjured.
Max Lanza is thankful to walk away unharmed from his big crash in EuroNASCAR PRO Race 2 at American SpeedFest 12.
Lanza crashed hard into the tire barriers following contact with Club Competition’s Ulysse Delsaux in the opening lap. The contact also collected Max Marzorati, Lanza’s teammate at CAAL Racing.
The crash was Lanza’s second big crash at the SpeedFest. Two years prior, the Italian flipped his car after he lost his brakes at Paddock Hill – coincidentally also in Race 2 of the weekend.
Lanza’s crash greatly affected his EuroNASCAR OPEN teammate Roberto Benedetti. Benedetti was unable to take the start in his Race 2 because the No. 88 Avangarde Group Camaro that they shared were destroyed in pieces.
“I feel really sorry for Roberto, but there was nothing I could do,” said Lanza in his post-race release. “It happened so fast, the car in front of me moved wide and we touched.”
“The impact was as spectacular as it was violent. The #88 came out badly damaged, but I walked away unharmed. These EuroNASCAR cars are really tough!”
The accident caps off a rollercoaster weekend for Lanza at Brands Hatch. The 45-year old was the fastest Challenger Trophy contender in Free Practice, finishing ninth overall with a time of 49.328.
However, EuroNASCAR’s last-minute Qualifying changes due to the weather situation left Lanza down in 20th position on the build-up to Race 1. He ultimately finished 15th, enough to secure runner-up in Challenger Trophy.
“It’s been an incredible weekend, full of ups and downs,” concludes Lanza. “We started really strong in free practice, and everything was looking promising. But then the rain during qualifying mixed things up a bit.”
“In the race, everything went smoothly. Brands Hatch is an unforgiving track, and consistency became our strongest weapon. Thanks to that, we secured our fourth podium of the season, a very important second place for the championship.”
Lanza now sits 17th in the overall standings with 122 points. He’s in a three-way tie, and by sheer coincidence the other drivers in this tie situation were the drivers involved in the Italian’s big accident: Delsaux and Marzorati.
Out of the three, Delsaux won out as he had the best overall race finish result: Two elevenths. Lanza followed with a best race finish of 13th, with Marzorati trailing on two 14th places.
In the Challenger Trophy situation, Lanza is eleven points behind overall leader Claudio Remigio Cappelli. Davit Kajaia was only ten points away from Lanza, having beaten the Italian for the Trophy win in Race 1.
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