.jpg)
Edoardo Mortara
Practice 1 //P21
Practice 2 //P18
Qualifying //P23
Race // DNF
Championship //P7 [18 points]
Norman Nato
Practice 1 // P5
Practice 2 //P17
Qualifying //P14
Race // P12
Championship //P23 [0 points]
ROKiT VenturiRacing
Championship //P6 [18 points]
After a one month break in competition, ROKiT Venturi Racing visited the winding roads of Rome for the first time since Season 5, contesting the first of two races in the Italian capital.
A revised configuration of the Circuito Cittadino dell'EUR heightened the importance of data collection, and a promising first practice session – which showcased top five pace – was followed by a shortened FP2.
In qualifying, a technical issue prevented Edoardo Mortara from completing his flying lap which placed him in P23 on the grid while Norman Nato took P14 from Group 4.
This left Monaco’s only racing team facing an uphill fight for the race which started behind the safety car after a sudden downpour only minutes before lights out.
After breaking parc ferme earlier in the day, Edo served a drive-through penalty with 39-minutes + 1 lap remaining before ultimately retiring with damage after ascending to P21.
Norman, meanwhile, was locked in a fight for the top 10, however, debris from an accident ahead impacted his steering and ultimately, car performance.
The Frenchman took the chequered flag in P12 after 45-minutes + 1 lap of racing, 1.2-seconds outside of the top 10 after a late safety car.
“Unfortunately,we can’t change what happened today. One small issue on the powertrain before qualifying compounded Edo’s day and ultimately, meant that it was lost. Norman showed some encouraging pace at the start of the day but because of debris on the track, he had issues with his steering. In the end, his job was about bringing the car home. The beauty of double-header races is that we get to race again tomorrow and that’s where our focus goes now.”
“Just before the start of qualifying, we experienced a technical issue on the powertrain and this meant that I was unable to complete a push lap which is a shame because the car felt great in the morning. This meant that we started last and then because we missed parc ferme, I had a drive-through penalty at the start of the race. I lost around 30-seconds from the penalty but I started to close up to Sette Camara who made a mistake earlier in the race. I was following him and he slowed really suddenly to go into the pit lane. I tried to avoid him but I broke the front wing. Today is a day to forget and we’ll go again tomorrow.”
“Today started quite well and after practice, I think it was clear that we have a lot of promise in our package this season. I was confident for qualifying but Group 4 was quite messy. One of the drivers in front of me hit the wall and littered debris across the track which I had to take evasive action for. This lost me around six tenths and likely cost me a place in Super Pole. Because of the rain, the track was incredibly slippy during the race and at the start, it was about surviving. I kept the car on the road and I was fighting for a place inside the top 10 but again, a driver in front of me hit the wall and there were debris everywhere. Some of the track signage got caught on the front of my car and this impacted my steering – I had to lift quite a lot in high-speed corners just to get the car rotated so that cost me a lot of time.There are very encouraging signs from today overall, and I’m looking forward to racing again tomorrow. I hope that my luck will turn around soon and hopefully, we’ll be able to get some more points and podiums on the board.”
.png)
.png){kind=spacer}
