LADA Sport Lukoil forced to withdraw from Monza

Neither of the two Lada Grantas will be on the grid in today’s races at Monza, with the team having to make the decision to withdraw the cars after severe damage was sustained in yesterday’s qualifying session.

During the first part of qualifying, Aleksei Dudukalo locked up with possible suspension failure heading into Turn 1 and slammed into the side of team-mate James Thompson’s car. Dudukalo’s car was eliminated on the spot, whilst Thompson was able to return to the pits and complete a lap in Q2 with the damaged car and set the ninth fastest time.

“It was great to get out, but the rear-bumper was open like an airbrake and the chassis’s crabbing, so I was riding like a go-kart around the circuit,” said Thompson to TouringCarTimes. “It was great turning left because you were already pointing left, understeer-wise it was pretty special, if we went oval racing it would maybe be a good set-up.”

Although Aleksei Dudukalo’s car was deemed potentially repairable, the team has decided to focus their efforts on repairing the cars during the short break before the next round at Marrakech in two weeks.