The second race of the Michelin Le Mans Cup at Monza was a tough test for Charlie Martin as a mechanical failure ended the team’s second championship race early, despite a promising race stint that saw her gain 11 positions before the mid-way pit stop.
With mixed weather conditions throughout the build-up to the race and incidents in practice and qualifying, the British driver had it all to do when she lined up in P25 for the start of the race.
Martin battled hard from the start, gaining four positions in her first two laps and overtaking two further drivers by the end of lap six. By the end of her race stint, Martin had battled her way to P14 and pitted for refuelling and driver change.
After handing the car over to partner David Hauser, the no 11 Racing Experience car rejoined the action, but suffered a mechanical failure that forced Hauser to park the car at the side of the track, ending the team’s second outing in the Michelin Le Mans Cup championship.
Charlie Martin said: “Fundamentally, it just wasn’t our weekend. The team has worked so hard but at every twist and turn the track has thrown something else at us.”
“I’m really happy with my stint. There were some mistakes that I was frustrated with during my stint during Paul Ricard and focussed hard on addressing those between races, both in terms of my physical preparation but also my mental preparation – working on maintaining focus in traffic for long stints and that paid off in the race.”
“I made up a lot of positions and stayed out of trouble. I also put in some of my quickest laps of the weekend during the race, so I know that the pace is there and I’m building confidence all the time. After their hard work to repair the car, it was important to me to show the team that I could deliver a strong race performance and hand the car over in a better position from where I started and I’m pleased that I succeeded in that.”
“I’m gutted that David’s stint was ended on his very first lap, due to a mechanical failure. David is a very experienced and confident driver and was consistently setting great times all week, so to have his race cut short before it really began is very cruel. We have been the victim of the cruel hand of fate this weekend, but we have learned so much about what we are capable of as a team and that’s what we’ll take forward with us to Le Mans.”
The next race of the season will take place at the opening of the 24 Hours of Le Mans weekend. The Michelin Le Mans Cup event will feature two 55-minute races before the iconic race.
