The third round of the European Le Mans Series was, once again, held in Italy, this time in Monza.
Initially planned at the Hungaroring, the third ELMS race was finally moved to Italy, to the Temple of Speed in Monza.
Known for its mythical corners such as Ascari or the Parabolica, Monza is a fast circuit (hence its name) but also a tricky one.
During the collective tests and free practices, DUQUEINE Team and its Oreca #30 managed to outwit the traps of the track and collect the necessary data for Saturday's qualifying and Sunday's race.
On Saturday 2nd July, the day after his 19th birthday, Reshad DE GERUS took part in the qualifying session. Reshad set the 8th best time at only 0.745s from Pole Position, and this with only one set of new tyres compared to the others. A very good performance from the young Reunionese and the whole team.
Once again, we can see that the level in LMP2 class is very high this year.
As usual, it was Memo ROJAS who took the start of the 4h of Monza. Starting on the 4th row, the Mexican made a very good start. The race pace of the #30 car allowed him to move up to 7th place and battle with IDEC and APR.
Unfortunately, after only 20 minutes of racing, the Oreca of DUQUEINE Team was the victim of a race incident which forced them to retire. Memo had nothing to reproach himself for. He had made a perfect start to the race.
Despite this retirement, the DUQUEINE Team showed that they had taken a big step forward since the start of the season. Today, the #30 and its drivers are fighting at the front, which is very promising for the second part of the season which will start on august 25th in Barcelona.
After this first part, DUQUEINE Team has well deserved this rest due to the summer break. The Ales team will come back even stronger in Barcelona.
