The Rolex 250 Miles of Monaco was won in dominant fashion by Nick Addison, only briefly losing the lead after a late caution. The Australian started from pole position ahead of Will Hoskins and Nathaniel Powers, and immediately asserted his authority by building a 5 second gap to Hoskins and Powers. Felix Beyer was close behind, battling with Hoskins and Powers as the three repeatedly switched positions in second, third and fourth.
The first caution of the day came about when Callum Brandon lost the rear end into Massenet, slamming hard into the wall. The following backmarkers all did well to avoid the Lancashire car, apart from Sergio Alvarez, who ploughed into it unsighted while tight behind Keith Murphy. On lap 18, the race was resumed, but Hiroto Nakumaya’s engine expired almost as soon as the field got back up to racing speed. The second portion of the race was a more trouble free period, with Addison, Hoskins, Beyer and Powers as the lead quartet with a short gap to those behind. There was a scare for the leading pack on lap 54 when lapping Rossendo Werner as the Italian clashed with Powers while he was in the lead, bumping wheels lightly, but everyone emerged unhindered somehow. On lap 78, Powers’ luck ran out. While lapping the disappointing Brock Kidd, he was squeezed wide by Hoskins, causing the Downton regular to clip the wall at the Fairmont hairpin, damaging his suspension beyond repair. While he tried to recover the car to a safe spot, he was forced to park just before the tunnel, forcing another safety car. Kidd’s car was also too damaged to continue, but he managed to limp back to the pitlane. From the restart, Addison’s pace wasn’t as good as it had been for the rest of the race, with the root cause mostly likely the fact the tyres had cooled too much behind the safety car. When the race was resumed on lap 83, Hoskins was very feisty, placing his nose on the inside of his Morley team-mate on numerous occasions before, on lap 90, he managed to pull completely alongside into the Nouvelle Chicane. On the inside line for the first part, he barely got past, but took the lead. Lap 92 saw a retirement for Didier Arnaud due to engine failure, while 3 laps later, Ezequiel Tanner broke his suspension clipping the wall on the exit of the swimming pool chicane. By this point, Hoskins had built up a 2 second lead, and it appeared Addison had blown his chance of glory in a Triple Crown race. However, Puccio Giodano made a huge error into turn 1 on lap 103, slamming into the outside wall. The safety car was again brought out, and on the restart on lap 108, it was Hoskins who had this time let his tyre temperatures drop too much. Addison made a bold move into the hairpin on lap 117, only 3 laps from the end, but it was telegraphed by Hoskins, forcing Addison all the way up the inside kerb. With only 2 laps to go, Addison spotted a gap into Casino Square, and the two team-mates were side-by-side in a situation that has never been seen before on the streets of Monaco. Addison held on around the outside of the left hander, meaning he took control of the racing line for the following right, and with that the decisive move of the race was made. Addison won by only 6 tenths of a second ahead of Hoskins, while Marcus Thunder completed the podium after a solid drive moving up from 7th. Adrien Simon in fourth was also a big mover, quietly improving upon his 12th place grid spot, though a triple crown victory still eludes the defending FV champion.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. Archives
April 2018
Categories |