Luck is needed sometimes: Champio ship leader Tymek Kucharczyk (BVM Racing) extended his lead in the standings after a Race 1 at Monza that saw him struggling with bad stop speed. The Pole was heading towards salvaging the points of a sixth place but the last two laps of an exciting and closely fought race were simply crazy and ended with the other title contenders, Motopark’s Yevan David and Michael Shin, out of the podium and Kucharczyk in third, behind Fernando Barrichello (second) and Everett Stack, who brilliantly signed his second success in the series.
Kucharczyk could be crowned later today in Race 2, where Kucharczyk starts with 334 net points, ahead of David (302) and Shin (296).
THE RACE – Yevan David took a dominant pole, beating Kucharczyk and Shin. At the start the Sri Lankan keeps the advantage, despite an attack of the Pole at the first chicane, and he seems to be in a position to pull away, before a small mistake in lap 3 at Lesmo recompacts the group. In the meantime, Shin has passed Kucharczyk for second, with the Pole in apparent difficulty, as he will be passed also by Garfias, Yeh and Stack, being sixth in lap 5, before retrieving one position, as Yeh is summoned to give pack one position.
By lap 10, the top six are still in compact formation with David ahead of Garfias, Shin, Stack, Kucharczyk and Yeh. Garfias threatens David while Stack passes Shin. Further back there is a contact between Viisoreanu and Kolovos, with both forced to the pits. In lap 12, Garfias passes David at first chicane, but cutting the chicane a bit. Soon after, drama strikes as the group arrives at first chicane with three cars abreast. A contact is inevitable, with Shin and Yeh falling as victims of it. From the back, Barrichello has used the opportunity to take fourth. The action continues to be heated, as Stack, in great shape, steals second from David.
It is definitely not finished as at the end of the penultimate lap, again at first chicane, there is a new mêlée, which ends with Garfias and David spinning. Stack gets the win ahead of Barrichello and an incredulous Kucharczyk.