Sunday’s GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup race at Monza got off to a chaotic start, with eight cars immediately forced into retirement and others forced into pits with damage.
Such was the scale of the incident that about three-quarters of the field had to swerve into the run-off area.
The Haupt Racing Team was particularly hard hit, with its two Ford Mustang GT3 Evos, each on pole in their respective classes (Pro and Silver), severely damaged. Ricardo Feller in the Lionspeed Porsche also took a heavy hit, sustaining significant damage to his car.
Also involved were two McLarens, including Marvin Kirchhofer’s Garage 59 example, which turned into a wrecking ball at the Rettifilo chicane and took out all the front-runners, #99 the Attempto Audi, another Porsche (Boutsen VDS), an AF Corse Ferrari and the Paul Ricard-winning Comtoyou Aston Martin.
Just moments later, Valentino Rossi in the WRT BMW #46 also retired due to clutch failure. It is currently unclear whether this was caused by the massive pile-up or occurred independently of it.
The Verstappen Mercedes, which had caused a stir at Le Castellet with an airborne moment, took a minor hit and had to pit for repairs, dropping off the lead lap. Shortly before the halfway point of the race, it finally retired with a broken suspension. The team had already inspected that exact spot during the pit stop, so it can be assumed that this was consequential damage.
The #48 Winward Mercedes had a stroke of luck. Maro Engel was largely missed by the spinning cars and was able to escape through the emergency exit. The only other car from the top 10 alongside him that survived the crash was the #2 Boutsen-VDS Porsche driven by Alessio Picariello.
Martin: Didn’t touch anyone, but they are blaming me
Maxime Martin in the #17 GetSpeed Mercedes was identified as the culprit behind the carnage. He had a good start but had nowhere to go because the road ahead of him was blocked by three cars side by side. When he ran out of room on the track, he had to cut back into the field.
Opinions are divided on what happened next. The Nurburgring 24 Hours winner refuses to accept the blame: “I don’t know what they’re complaining about. I didn’t touch anyone. I don’t have a single scratch on the car, but they’re blaming me!”
“Yes, I had to drive a little to the right off the track because I had nowhere else to go. But then I safely cut back into the field before the grass, without touching anyone. I’m sorry for everyone, but ultimately I can’t say anything about it.”
The footage shows that while he’s technically right and didn’t touch anyone, Alessio Rovera in the #51 Ferrari had to swerve. That, in turn, sent the #10 Boutsen-VDS Porsche into the guardrail. Rovera lurched back and spun Kirchhofer’s McLaren, which flipped over and, unchecked, plowed through the entire leading group at the chicane.
GetSpeed withdrew the #17 car from the race after losing two laps. As a result, around a dozen cars fell victim to the events at the start. The total damage is likely to amount to several million euros.
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Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: motorsport.com
