- Èric Gené took pole position and second place, while Érik Zabala took a bronze and a silver. Sandro Pelatti, meanwhile, set a good pace and was very consistent throughout the weekend.
- The Barcelona-based team leads the teams’ standings, nine points ahead of second place. In the drivers’ championship, Zabala is second, just five points behind first place.
- “We are happy with the results. All three riders have demonstrated their speed and strength, and have completed a good weekend,” said David Simón, Team Manager of Monlau Motul.
- “We left Portugal first in the teams category and second in the drivers category, so the balance is very positive. As usual, the mechanics and engineers were excellent,” says Jaime Serrano, CEO of Monlau Motorsport.
The Estoril Circuit (Portugal) hosted the second scoring round of the 2024 TCR Spain season, in which Monlau Motul was one of the main protagonists, with a total of three podiums. Érik Zabala, Èric Gené and Sandro Pelatti, at the wheel of their respective CUPRA León VZ TCRs, scored valuable points for the team, which moves into the lead in the team classification.
As part of the Racing Sound Fest, the action on the track started on Friday morning with the two free practice sessions. From the first few moments, the Monlau drivers showed their potential and competitive pace. After this, it was the turn of the qualifying round to define the starting grids for Saturday’s races, where Gené was the fastest with a time of 1:45.608 which gave him pole position . Zabala was seventh (1:46.931) and Pelatti, ninth (1:47.427).
On Saturday, the moment of truth arrived with the two races. In the first, which lasted 25 minutes plus one lap, the poleman made a good start that allowed him to defend his position, but after several battles in the first lap he lost some positions until he dropped to fourth place, just ahead of his teammate Érik Zabala. After the intervention of a safety car, both drivers moved up two places and the Catalan was fighting for the victory, but finally had to settle for silver. Zabala completed the podium and Pelatti –very consistent– finished seventh.
In the second race, with the grid reversed according to the qualifying times, Zabala made a good start to place second on the first lap, a position he held until the chequered flag. Gené started tenth and, after an incredible start, he reached fourth place. However, he had to retire due to a setback when he was fighting for the podium. As for Sandro Pelatti, who started second, he was involved in several incidents and finally crossed the finish line seventh, just like in the first race.
After the Portuguese race, the Navarrese driver Érik Zabala is second in the championship, five points behind the first, and Monlau Motul is the leader in the teams section.
David Simón , Team Manager of Monlau Motul, highlighted the skills of the three riders: “We are happy with the results achieved. Gené took pole and second place. It was a shame not to be able to complete a perfect weekend due to some problems. Éric Zabala was fighting with those ahead and, as always, made key overtaking moves and showed great solidity. As for Sandro Pelatti, he had a very consistent pace throughout the races contested.”
Jaime Serrano , CEO of Monlau Motul, highlighted the team’s work: “The results of the two races favour us for the championship. We left Portugal first in the teams category and second in the drivers category, so the balance is very positive. As usual, the mechanics and engineers were excellent. Now we have to prepare for the next TCR Europe race in Brno and the TCR Spain race in Valencia.”
With the halfway point of the season reached, the next round of the TCR Spain will be on 5 and 6 October at the Circuit Ricardo Tormo, in Cheste.
