Porcu converts pole to victory in a slipstream chess match; Masse and Beninca complete the podium
Qualifying
The front row set the tone for an hour of high‑speed brinkmanship. Simone Porcu (BS2P Racing Team) put his Lotus‑liveried Formula RSS 1979 V8 on pole with a 1:35.534 (Softs). Fellow Italian gilvil77 joined him on the front row (1:35.813, S), with Florian Masse (TH Racing) third (1:35.973, S). The top ten was rounded out by FMG (1:36.258), Eduardo Beninca (1:36.284), Ali Rıza Tuncel (1:36.765), Eetu Karjunen (1:36.842), Rolf Biber (1:37.160), pitman (1:37.218) and Nat Stevenson (1:37.227).
Race report
Start & opening laps
Porcu made a clean launch and immediately imposed a steady rhythm, dragging Masse clear of the pack. Behind them the order reshuffled at the end of the opening tour: Biber vaulted from P8 to P4, only for Beninca to reclaim the place by lap 2. From there the lead group settled into a pattern—Porcu, Masse, gilvil77, Beninca—while Biber, pitman and Karjunen queued up in their wake.
Tyre story
Most of the front‑runners chose Softs and chased outright pace; Karjunen, Tuncel, Stevenson, Ristic and kuanza gambled on Hards for consistency over the hour. That split shaped the midfield fight as the stint wore on.
The race turns on two minutes of drama
Lap 16 detonated the calm: gilvil77 clocked a ragged 2:19.710, dropping from a secure third to the tail of the top seven. That single error handed P3 to Beninca and promoted pitman and Biber. Three laps later, the leaders exchanged favours—Porcu logged a 1:49.674 on lap 19, which put Masse into the lead. One tour later the roles reversed as Masse lost time with a 1:49.719 on lap 20 and Porcu took back control for good.
The middle stint also shuffled the second group. Biber suffered a 1:57.392 on lap 19, ceding spots to pitman and Karjunen. Then came their private duel: Karjunen grabbed P4 on lap 23, only for pitman to repass on lap 24 as the Hard‑tyre runner started to feel the pace.
Comeback and close
From lap 30 onward, gilvil77 began an eye‑catching recovery—past Biber for P6 (lap 30), Karjunen for P5 (lap 31), and finally pitman for P4 (lap 33). At the very end Biber stole sixth back from Karjunen on lap 37. Up front, Porcu’s metronomic laps and an outright fastest lap 1:36.743 kept Masse at bay to the flag.
Incidents & attrition
There was no shortage of contact deeper in the field. FMG’s promising qualifying turned into a lap‑4 retirement after tangles in traffic. Syd Drake (2 laps) and Dale Ballweg (3) were early DNFs; Davide Saìu stopped on lap 11 and Ferd1 on lap 19. Stevenson and Bucci both survived brushes with the scenery to bank solid points.
Monza — Provisional classification (Top 10)
- Simone Porcu — 37 laps, 60:28.722, fastest lap 1:36.743
- Florian Masse — 37 laps, 60:32.651 (+3.929s)
- Eduardo Beninca — 37 laps, 61:00.425 (+31.703s)
- gilvil77 — 37 laps, 61:52.848
- pitman — 37 laps, 61:57.145
- Rolf Biber — 37 laps, 61:57.694
- Eetu Karjunen — 37 laps, 61:57.886
- Nat Stevenson — 36 laps
- Richard Rossier — 36 laps
- Stefano Bucci — 36 laps
Notable DNFs: Drake (2 laps), Ballweg (3), FMG (4), Saìu (11), Ferd1 (19).
How Monza shapes the championship (drop‑score in effect for the season)
Points system: P1 40, P2 37, P3 34, P4 31, P5 30, P6 29, P7 28 … P29 6.
- Porcu starts on 40 pts, a win from pole plus fastest lap authority.
- Masse leaves Italy on 37 pts—within striking distance after pushing the leader into a brief mid‑race swap.
- Beninca banks 34 pts for third, profiting when gilvil77 hit trouble.
- gilvil77 takes 31 pts after a spirited comeback to fourth.
- pitman opens with 30 pts in fifth after winning the duel with Karjunen.
With the drop‑race rule (the worst score discarded at season’s end), there’s nothing to drop yet—but the calculus is already clear: FMG’s early DNF is an obvious “drop” candidate later, while Porcu’s Monza haul is a keeper.
Takeaways
- Lead under pressure: The race hinged on two out‑of‑sequence laps (19–20) that briefly flipped the lead before Porcu asserted control again.
- Strategy split: Softs were the way to win; the best Hard‑tyre finisher (Karjunen) took P7, with Tuncel and Stevenson leveraging durability for points.
- Comeback drive: gilvil77’s lap‑16 setback and three overtakes in the final eight laps delivered a hard‑earned P4.
- Team notes: TH Racing comes away smiling—Masse P2 and pitman P5—while BS2P’s Porcu set the early benchmark.
Monza has delivered a classic: high speed, one razor‑thin momentum swing at the front, and enough midfield incident to keep the stewards busy. Next stop: Long Beach, where bumps and concrete walls will ask very different questions of these ground‑effect cars.
