Irish driver Eoin Murray secured an impressive third place in his first season of the Seat Leon Euroseries at Monza this weekend.
Clearly struggling with a car lacking straight line speed all weekend Eoin qualifying in a disappointing 11th position leaving him with an uphill task for race one. An incident at the famous tight first chicane at Monza ended the race for 5 drivers including Eoin and as a result ruining his championship title hopes.
Eoin Comments “Race one is a rolling start and is always a bit of a lottery especially at Monza! I made a really good start passing a few cars, as we entered the chicane the leading pack collided. I was on the inside and in the best possible position when I was hit from behind into the pack ahead. The impact was quite hard causing substantial damage, immediately ending my race and effectively my championship.”
After Eoin failed to finish race one he had to start race two from 29th position. A fighting drive saw Eoin finish in 8th position after 9 laps when the flag dropped claiming 1 important championship point. This was an even more impressive drive considering his car was more than 5kph down at each speed trap.
Speaking after the weekend Eoin said, “We have been struggling for straight line speed lately, we replaced so many parts however the problem persisted leaving my team PRS Group & Seat Sport puzzled with the problem. I am so disappointed as it was not possible for me to fight with my rivals on a level playing field. Motorsport is a cruel sport and sometimes this is the way things go. On reflection third was a strong performance given that it was both mine and the team’s first year in this series with a new car. It was an incredibly close season and my hard earned point this weekend was a vital point securing 3rd in the championship. I wish to extend my sincere congratulations to Oscar Nogues on winning the 2008 championship.’’
The standard of drivers competing in the Seat Leon Eurocup is extremely high and the series is a real proving ground for World Touring car drivers however Eoin and his management will now have to evaluate his options for 2009. Eoin wishes to thank everyone who supported him this season- Reynolds Logistics, Motorsport Ireland, Bill Griffin Motors, Pixelart & Fresh Multimedia.
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