Photo: ETCC Media

Christjohannes Schreiber wins Monza Race 2, as race leader is again penalised

Rikli Motorsport driver Christjohannes Schreiber won the second European Touring Car Cup race of the day at Monza, despite crossing the line behind his team-mate Peter Rikli, after Rikli was given a penalty for violating track limits.

The two Hondas started in sixth and seventh courtesy of the reversed top eight grid from Race 1, but both had lightning starts and were up to first and second on the way into the Rettifilo on the first lap, with Rikli leading Schreiber.

Igor Stefanovski made his way up to third in his SEAT, but ran wide at the second Lesmo, allowing Race 1 winner Petr Fulín past with Norbert Nagy also getting ahead in the Zengo SEAT León.

Plamen Kralev was in the midst of the action behind, with the Audi driver mixing it with Andreas Pfister and Fabio Mota’s SEATs during the mid-part of the race, with the Bulgarian eventually coming out on top, finishing in sixth position.

Fabio Mota was the first driver to pick up a track limits penalty, with the Portuguese driver dropping to eighth and last after retirements for Zsolt Szabo and Mladen Lalusic in their SEATs.

Track limits were also in question for front runners Fulín and Rikli, with the two drivers under investigation for cutting the track at the start throughout the middle of the race.

Rikli was given a ten second penalty, and Fulín five seconds. For Fulín, the penalty made no difference to his finishing position as he was over five seconds clear of Nagy, but for Rikli, it dropped him behind team-mate Schreiber in the results. As a result, his new Swiss team-mate won the race where he didn’t cross the line first, unlike the first race where he crossed the line first but didn’t win, as he himself then had a penalty to serve.

Schreiber now leads the standings on 20 points ahead of Fulín and Rikli, tied in second on 17, ahead of the next round at the Hungaroroing in two weeks’ time.