Euro Pro GT3: Monza
Lamborghini Factory Driver, Scot Sandy, bags top six Euro Pro GT3 finish at Monza despite safety car interruptions.
Sandy bagged a top six finish in the GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Pro Cup in the latest round at Monza. But he and his Italian Vincenzo Sospiri Racing team had to fight back through the field after unfortunately falling victim to an ill-timed Full Course Yellow period.
Partnered by Frenchman Franck Perera and Italian Mattia Michelotto in the No163 Lamborghini Huracan EVO2 GT3, prepared by VSR, Sandy, the 25-year-old from Forfar, looked on as Perera started the three-hour race from fourth on the 59-car grid. But just seconds into the race the first of eight interruptions, involving combinations of FCYs and Safety Cars, was triggered when an Aston Martin was pitched into the gravel on the opening lap.
Perera safely negotiated the opening 78-minute stint, which included the first of the compulsory three pitstops, before pitting from seventh to hand the car to Sandy. But within seconds of the Scot rejoining the field, the race was again neutralised by the appearance of another FCY following an incident involving another car. And with the field restricted to 80km/h rather than full race speed, those making their pitstops under the caution period benefitted by more than two minutes.
“It was just really unfortunate timing,” Sandy. “It meant that cars we’d been ahead of could pit and rejoin ahead of us because we were trundling around at 80km/h.” When the race went green again after the 20-minute caution period, Sandy’s #163 Lamborghini had dropped to 17th. “It’s certainly not what we deserved because Franck hadn’t put a foot wrong through his stint,” he continued. “Not only did he avoid any trouble at the race start, which is traditionally hectic at Monza, but he also safely negotiated another three restarts after Safety Car periods. “There’s no denying we were one of the big losers under the caution period, but sometimes that just happens in endurance racing. But it was frustrating because we knew we had a super-quick car.”
With 51-minutes of the race remaining Sandy, who at one stage was 18th, had battled back to stand 11th overall and ninth in Pro when he pitted to hand the car to Michelotto. The young Italian again had to navigate two FCY and Safety Car periods and battled through to deliver a ninth-place finish overall and sixth in the Pro Cup.
“It was a real battling performance by everyone in the team to deliver the result we did, and bank a big haul of championship points” Sandy explained. “I think we definitely had the pace for a top five finish, possibly a podium — at the end we were lapping as fast as the lead cars — but circumstances outwith our control impacted our race. “But heading into what is the Blue Riband race of the year, the Spa24 Hours at the end of the month, we know we have a very fast and reliable car. Hopefully we’ve used up all our bad luck and we can deliver in Belgium.”
Sandy’s next European race is the Spa24H with VSR over the weekend of June 27-29.