Eoin Murray had a near perfect weekend at Oschersleben finishing 4th in race one and 5th in race 2. Eoin Scored a total of 9 points leaving him in second place in the championship and only one point behind the leader with one event remaining. He achieved his goal set before the weekend to score as many points possible without winning the WTCC drive for Monza which would mean he would miss the remaining Seat Leon Eurocup event.
The Seat Leon Eurocup is set for a grandstand finish in 5 weeks time in Monza. Although Murray & his Championship rival Colak from Croatia have a 6 & 7 point lead over Spanish driver Nogues this closely fought series sees an amazing 13 drivers still with a mathematical chance of winning the title.
The Oschersleben event was not without problems for Murray and he had to fight hard in both races. After an engine sensor problem during qualifying he had to start race one from 9th position. A great start saw Eoin move up to 5th after the first lap and 4th by the finish. With the top 8 positions reversed for race 2 Eoin would start from 5th position. Disaster struck for Murray on the opening lap when championship rival Nogues hit the rear of his car on the entry to the third corner causing him to slide off the track and rejoin in 13th position. Knowing the championship was at stake Eoin fought his way back and took 5th place on the last lap.
After the race Eoin commented; “We knew what we had to do this weekend and although it wasn’t easy I’m delighted we achieved it. The problem in qualifying put us on the back foot but we had a strong car in both the races. Race 2 was crazy; cars were getting pushed off the track everywhere including myself on the opening lap. There is nothing you can do as a driver when someone decides to hit you from behind but I consider myself lucky I was able to keep the car out of the gravel trap and rejoin the track.”
If Eoin manages to clinch the Championship at Monza he will win a fully funded Seat Sport drive in the European Touring car Cup (ETCC) at Austria in November. As per each event during this championship Seat also offer a fully funded drive in the World Touring Car Championship (WTCC) to the driver scoring the most points at each event. This gives Eoin the opportunity not only to win the championship and a fully funded ETCC drive but also a fully funded WTCC drive in Japan in November.
Thinking about Monza Eoin comments; “The championship is extremely close now but I have been in this position before and have come out on top so I’m hoping I can do it again and take my second European championship at Monza. To win the championship & a WTCC drive in Japan would top off an amazing year”.
Eoin’s next race is 4th – 5th of October at Monza in Italy.
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