Saturday race hopes shattered by engine breakdown

Last weekend, the Monza circuit, Italy, saw the last racing event of the debut season of the SEAT Leon Eurocup series. Michal Matějovský, who was recovering from a slight cold at the beginning of the last week, did not leave anything to chance and prepared for the race thoroughly, as witnessed by the first practice session, attended by 31 (!) drivers: Michal was running around the tenth place. Moreover, the team managed to improve the car's setup for the Saturday timed practice, and so Michal had a good chance of success.

In the timed practice, however, the engine power went down, and Michal had to settle for the 19th place. Moreover, the penalization from Oschersleben put him further back, to the 24th spot of the grid, which did not offer bright prospects. The car was subjected to a thorough inspection, but the cause of the trouble was not detected. Michal, despite the odds stacked against him, was determined to fight for the best possible result. After making a good start from the unfavourable position, he moved up, struggling his way through the pack. Unfortunately, his hopes were soon dashed by a fault in the engine's electronic control unit. In the end, the engine lost power completely and, consequently, Michal lagged behind his rivals, by up to 5 seconds in a lap. 'I could do nothing about it. I tried to catch up with others in the bends, but I lost time again on the straights,' said Michal, disappointed after the race.