Monza podium glory for Pizzitola & Schothorst in Formula Renault NEC

16-04-2014

Andrea Pizzitola and Steijn Schothorst got Manor MP Motorsport’s Formula Renault 2.0 Northern European Cup season off to a fantastic start at Monza in Italy over the weekend, 12th/13th April, with both drivers claiming podium silverware during the opening event of the campaign.

With very little to separate the team-mates over the course of the weekend, it was unsurprising and very fitting for Pizzitola and Schothorst to conclude the event tied for third in the provisional driver standings – each also adding a fifth place finish to their respective tallies.

Frenchman Pizzitola, who had qualified third fastest for Saturday’s race, made an excellent getaway to climb into second position on the run to the Rettifilo Chicane but soon had to focus on his mirrors with Ukyo Sasahara applying major pressure.

Passed into the Variante della Roggia on lap four, and then elbowed down to fourth, Pizzitola moved back into third on lap six where he stayed to the flag.



Schothorst started the encounter in eighth place but quickly climbed into the top five and mounted a strong bid for fourth position mid-race, before settling for fifth. Team-mates Philip Morin and Julio Moreno had mixed fortunes, Ecuadorian racer Moreno finishing a very impressive 17th from 28th on the grid while Morin worked his way into 12th position from 19th before spinning out on lap 11.

In round two on Sunday it was Dutchman Schothorst’s turn to climb the podium, producing a great drive from third on the grid. Challenging for second into the first chicane, he had to tuck back in to third place and the lead trio then pulled well clear of the rest of the pack after a lap one incident at Ascari chicane delayed the pursuers.

Holding third place throughout, Schothorst ensured Manor MP Motorsport celebrated two podiums from two outings with an excellent performance. Pizzitola made tremendous progress from 10th on the grid at the start, moving into seventh on lap one, sixth on lap two and then capping his rise through the order with fifth at the end of lap nine when Alexander Albon pitted.

Swedish driver Morin made up for his unfortunate excursion in the opening race to post a 16th place finish in round two, having had to recover from outside the top 20 after being edged back from 19th place at the start. Moreno, beginning the encounter from 26th position, made superb progress again to end the race just 0.4 seconds behind team-mate Morin in 17th place.

“It’s fantastic to start the NEC season with a podium in each race”, said Manor MP Motorsport’s Tony Shaw, “Andrea and Steijn both did a great job all weekend, they were very quick, raced well and were really evenly matched. We’ve been very impressed by the race performances Philip and Julio produced, they’ve both got a lot to learn but definitely made a great start this weekend.”