- Brazilian driver Raphael Reis, driving one of the CUPRA León VZ TCRs of the Barcelona team, achieved second place in the touring car category.
- Èric Gené was left on the brink of a podium finish after a penalty at the Circuit Ricardo Tormo in Valencia.
- “We are very pleased with the performance of the entire weekend. Our drivers projected an excellent image, they got the most out of the CUPRAs and knew how to adapt to the different track conditions,” says David Simón, Team Manager of Monlau Motul.
- “As always, we would like to thank the hard work of the engineers, mechanics and drivers, who shined in a world-class competition. We were making our debut in this event and we proved that we can compete among the best,” said Jaime Serrano, CEO of Monlau Motorsport.
Monlau Motul Technical School demonstrated the quality and strength of its team, both in terms of mechanics and engineers as well as drivers, at the FIA Motorsport Games. The team, which was making its debut in this competition, brought two CUPRA León VZ TCRs to the Circuit Ricardo Tormo, driven by Èric Gené and Raphael Reis, representing Spain and Brazil respectively. Both remained in the front positions throughout the weekend, ultimately scoring a silver medal for Reis and a fourth place for Gené in the TCR category, in a weekend marked by changeable weather conditions.
The event was inaugurated on Wednesday at the City of Arts and Sciences in Valencia with the opening ceremony in the presence of the best drivers on the international scene. From Friday onwards, the action moved to the Cheste circuit, where the two free practice sessions were held in the touring car class. On Saturday it was the turn of the qualy , in which Reis was second and Gené third, which left them very well positioned for the qualifying race. In this round, which defined the grid for the main race, Gené achieved an excellent second place, while Reis finished fourth.
Sunday was a day full of excitement. The race, which lasted 30 minutes plus one lap, was very complicated, as it started to rain on the second lap and the cars were on dry tyres. This caused Gené, who started second, to spin and fall to sixth place, although he recovered and climbed back to fourth position. After the chequered flag, he was initially considered third due to the penalty imposed on the Frenchman Aurélien Comte. However, the Barcelona native suffered the same fate and dropped to fifth place due to a collision with the Czech competitor, Adam Kout, at the start of the race. Finally, a disqualification of the first, the Italian Marco Butti, for using the Anti-Lag system during the race, placed him in fourth place.
Raphael Reis, meanwhile, was involved in intense battles on the track and crossed the finish line in fifth place, but the two penalties and Butti’s disqualification pushed him up to second place on the podium and, therefore, he was able to add a silver medal to the Brazilian medal count.
David Simón , Team Manager of Monlau Motul, highlighted the results of Reis and Gené: “We are very happy with the performance of the entire weekend. Our drivers projected an excellent image, they got the most out of the CUPRAs and knew how to adapt to the different track conditions. We fought hard and took a well-deserved second place.”
Jaime Serrano , CEO of Monlau Motul, praised the important work of the team: “As always, we would like to thank the hard work of the engineers, mechanics and drivers, who shined in a world-class competition. We made our debut in this event and showed that we can compete among the best. Now we are looking forward to preparing for the last round of the TCR Spain.”
The team thus concluded its first participation in the FIA Motorsport Games, where it stood out as one of the best in its category. The team’s next stop in touring cars will be the TCR Spain, from 22 to 24 November at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, where the champion of both drivers and teams will be decided, with Monlau Motul having a chance in both.
