Few race tracks in the world have as rich and varied a history as Monza. Here, the drivers of the FRL locked horns in a battle that unfolded over three heats. At the end of the night the standings would be shaken for most, save one.
Heat 1 would prove most interesting as most of the drivers anticipated trouble in the first chicane. However, cooler heads prevailed and the perceived threat was largely mitigated. It would be a few hundred meters further down the track where mayhem ensued. The reverse grid ensured that some antics would be played out early on, and this heat did not disappoint. Seth Jensen, in his #10 McLaren got loose exiting Lesmo, he tried to save it but ended up in the wall and bounced back out into traffic, nearly collecting Ghabe Stouffer's Ferrari and slamming Bryan Dean's Jaguar. Travis Billingsley would be collected in the fray as well. This would set up a cat and mouse chase for Andrew Steppat and the two MBR drivers, Ethan and Paul Maestri. Ethan in his #3 Porsche 911 would catch and pass Paul early on. Paul for his part quickly fell into defending P2 from the #001 McLaren of the reigning champion. After 3 laps, Andrew had made the inexorable pass on Paul and set his sights on P1. On lap 7, he caught and passed Ethan for the lead and victory.
Heat 2 would be as exciting, if not more so than the first one. Andrew Steppat started from the front of the field and briefly lost his lead to rookie driver Seth Jensen. Seth, in his #6 McLaren got a screaming start off the line and quickly passed everyone on a late brake into the first chicane. But, his late maneuver also caught him outside the proper race line on exit and he quickly fell back down the grid. Another late brake into Variante' would prove to be his undoing, and also affected Ethan Maestri, as his McLaren touched the grass and side-swiped Ethan's Porsche, dropping them both further back. Both of the representative Ferrari's started out quite well, chasing the #7 Porsche driven by Paul Maestri. That was until a late braking issue by Bryan Dean nearly took out the #18 of Travis Billingsley and did in fact take out the #2 Ferrari driven by Ghabe Stouffer, dropping both he and Bryan to the back of the field. Heat 2 ended with another win by Andrew, followed by positions 2 through 5 separated by less than 3 seconds!
Heat 3 was another reverse grid start. Andrew Steppat got a fantastic start off the line and quickly advanced from P9 to P2 inside the first lap. At the start of lap 3 he was able to pass Bryan Dean's #808 Jaguar and never looked back. Further afield, Ethan Maestri and Paul Maestri both had trouble with their Porsche's and fell to the bottom of the order. Paul was the first out, followed quickly by Ethan. Tony Tyree's #47 Porsche would fair much better in Heat's 2 & 3, finishing P5 in both. Ghabe Stouffer had a great finish to the evening with a P2 placement and a solid drive throughout the event, netting him another podium position on the night.
With such a varied results for everyone on the night, the series points standings continue to be unclear as to who will put together a good season. Andrew Steppat now has a commanding points lead out front. However, one could throw a blanket over positions 2-7 as all are only separated by 14 points. It will be exciting to see how this championship points battle plays out. The next event is at Spa-Francorchamp on August 23rd.
Event Result: (Average position based on heat results)
Andrew Steppat - 1.0
Travis Billingsley - 3.33
Ghabe Stouffer - 4.33
Ethan Maestri - 4.66
Paul Maestri - 5.00
Tony Tyree - 5.33
Bryan Dean - 5.66
Blake Wild - 7.66
Seth Jensen - 8.00
Championship Points:
Andrew Steppat - 100
Ghabe Stouffer - 70
Travis Billingsley - 68
Bryan Dean - 66
Ethan Maestri - 64
Tony Tyree - 58
Paul Maestri - 56
Blake Wild - 48
Seth Jensen - 44
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