Monza, Italy, September 27th - The Alpine Elf Europa Cup headed to the Autodromo Nazionale di Monza for its penultimate round of the season, two months after the A480 won the 6 Hours of Monza and two weeks after the Italian Formula 1 Grand Prix.
Alpine’s single-brand formula was actually making its first appearance at the Italian Temple of Speed since the series was reintroduced in 2018. With autumn just around the corner, the weather disrupted matters, with rain falling during the opening race. In qualification, however, it was Alexis Garcin (Herrero Racing) that looked most comfortable on the track, claiming an impressive double pole position. The blue and yellow Berlinette driver was in no mood to stop there: he went on to rack up his maiden victory in the series in race one, finishing ahead of Lucas Frayssinet (Chazel Technologie Course) and Louis Méric (Race Cars Consulting).
Things did not go according to plan for Simon Tirman (Autosport GP), the championship leader heading into the weekend in Italy; ninth place was decidedly below his expectations, whilst things were even worse for Paul Cauhaupé (Patrick Roger Autosport GP), who could only finish twelfth. Simon Tirman nonetheless showed his ability to bounce back in race two. He won the second contest, held this time in dry conditions, finishing ahead of Frayssinet and Garcin, who looked very sharp, whilst Paul Cauhaupé just missed out on a podium spot. Tirman thus kept his hopes of winning the title alive, making the final round of the Alpine Elf Europa Cup a mouth-watering prospect!
The final round of the championship, held at Le Castellet (14-16 October) racetrack looks set to be a showdown between Lucas Frayssinet and Simon Tirman for the title. Frayssinet undoubtedly had the better weekend in Monza results-wise, with two runner-up spots. He now tops the standings, five points ahead of Tirman in second, whilst third-placed Paul Cauhaupé is now thirty-one points behind the leader.
