F3 Open
Monza, Race 2
The second race of the penultimate round of the 2013 European F3 Open season at Monza provided an especially eventful race with some great performances from several drivers.
The start of the race proved tricky, as rain fell down over the circuit, leaving the teams unsure if the track was good for dry tyres or if it was going to rain again. Because of this, the race got underway behind the safety car with the first crucial point of the race coming when championship leader Ed Jones visited the pits to switch to wet tyres. This choice turned out to be catastrophic as the expected rain didn?t arrive and it ruled him out of the fight for points.
When the race went green, polesitter Alexandre Cougnaud immediately lost his first position to Santiago Urrutia, who was looking comfortable after the first couple of laps. A mistake from the young Uruguayian in the first Lesmo corner ended his race prematurely, however, and it was up to Nelson Mason, Sandy Stuvik, Mario Marasca, Cougnaud and Alex Toril to fight for the podium positions. The drivers were switching endlessly, leaving the end result up in the air till the very last corner of the race. After mistakes from Marasca and Mason ruled them out of the contention, an extremely close fight between teammates Stuvik and Cougnaud saw the Thai racer cross the finish line first. His teammates Cougnaud and Toril completed the podium, with Marasca, Mason and Polish driver Artur Janosz all finishing under ten seconds.
It is worth mentioning that, despite the closeness, the drivers at the front never went too far in racing their fellow compatriots.
With his victory, Sandy Stuvik reclaimed his leading position at the standings, only to lose it in the final round of the series.
David Gruz