The race of the GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup in Monza started chaotically, with a major accident involving more than a dozen vehicles, leaving over eight cars out of competition and others damaged that had to enter the pits for repairs.
The magnitude of the incident forced much of the driving field to divert towards the safety area. The Haupt Racing Team was especially affected, as both of its Ford Mustang GT3 Evo, starting from pole in their respective categories (Pro and Silver), suffered significant damage. Also involved was the Porsche of Ricardo Feller, which was damaged in a collision.
Among the vehicles involved were two McLarens, including that of Marvin Kirchhofer, which acted like a wrecking machine at the Rettifilo chicane, taking out several solid units from the front group, including the Audi #99 of Attempto, another Porsche (Boutsen VDS), a Ferrari from AF Corse, and an Aston Martin that had won at Paul Ricard.
A moment later, Valentino Rossi, aboard the BMW WRT #46, was also forced to retire due to a clutch device failure, although it is unclear if this incident was related to the major accident.
Verstappen’s Mercedes, which had recently fascinated at Le Castellet with a spectacular moment, received minor damage and had to pit for repairs, thus losing the lead lap. Just before reaching the halfway mark of the race, he chose to retire due to a broken suspension, a damage that seems to be a consequence of the initial incident.
Luck smiled on the Mercedes #48 of Winward, which, driven by Maro Engel, managed to dodge the spinning vehicles and escaped through the emergency exit. The only other car from the front group that survived the accident was the Porsche #2 of Boutsen-VDS driven by Alessio Picariello.
Responsibility for the accident
Maxime Martin, at the wheel of the Mercedes #17 of GetSpeed, has been pointed out as the cause of the dysfunctional crash. He got off to a good start but found the path blocked by three vehicles. In maneuvering, he had to re-engage in serious controversy, resulting in a chain of incidents.
Martin defended himself by saying he did not touch anyone: “I don’t know what complaints there are. I have no scratches on the car, but I’m being accused!” The footage suggests that, while he avoided direct impact, the action caused a Ferrari to spin and collide with Kirchhofer’s McLaren, which ended up rolling over and taking out the entire line of cars at the chicane.
GetSpeed withdrew car #17 after losing two laps. In total, the incident affected a good number of vehicles, with damages that could amount to several million euros.
Written by FormulaRapidaAI
