INTERESTING WEEKEND FOR UGOCHUKWU IN MONZA
A very long, hot weekend in Monza comes to an end, as the second round of the Euro 4 Championship closes its doors. One of the most controversial and challenging weekend so far, saw Ugo Ugochukwu put in his best efforts to chase down podiums and victories just like in every race of the season.
The Championship leader started his weekend off by sharing the fastest chrono in the first session of Free Practice on Friday with teammate Tukka Taponen. Two solid sessions of qualifying followed for the American young gun, who crossed the line in P6 in the first and P8 in the second session.
Unfortunately penalized after the first qualifying session and demoted in P8 for the start of Race 1, the American did not get discouraged and as soon as the lights went off for the first race of the weekend, he brilliantly fought his way up to 4th position already in the first few laps. With four minutes to go, Ugo found himself battling with US Racing’s Sztuka and fellow teammates Wharton and Slater for a podium position. Despite finally crossing the line in second position, the McLaren Junior driver got assigned a penalty for making contact with British teammate Slater and lost his podium position.
Determined to redeem himself, the 16-year-old from New York started an eventful Race 2 on Sunday morning in P8, driving confidently and keeping his position right up until the half of the race, when an accident involving multiple cars caused the appearance on track of the safety car. Once the track was declared to be safe, the safety car entered the pits, but an unclear display of safety communications on track caused confusion amongst the drivers leading the race, who kept rolling at a slow pace. Confusion at the front gave an opportunity to Slater, Wharton, and Ugochukwu to take over the lead of the race, and finish on the podium. Due to the controversial unfolding of the race, the official result of the race was frozen, and the dynamics will be further investigated.
The third race of the weekend saw the leader of the Euro 4 Championship start in third row, fit brilliantly into a hard-pushing front pack and keep his P5, but unfortunately making contact with teammate James Wharton while defending his position. Ugochukwu was eventually given a Drive Through penalty, which compromised his best efforts to take home a solid result.
Despite an overall unlucky weekend, the young American rising star preserved his lead in the Euro 4 Championship, which will take on the Spanish Circuit of Barcelona, between the 20th-22nd of October.
If you missed out on this weekend’s action, make sure to check out the Championship’s official YouTube channel, to relive the emotions of every race.
