Car Issues Thwart Canadian’s ALPS Series Return
Toronto, Ontario (September 07, 2014) – The penultimate round of the 2014 Formula Renault 2.0 ALPS Series, held this weekend at Italy’s Autodromo Internazionale Del Mugello, proved to be a challenging one for Luke Chudleigh and Tech1 Racing. A series of issues throughout ultimately held the Canadian charger to frustrating 19th and 21st place finishes.
The Milton racer’s troubles began pre-event when his Toulouse-based crew identified a crack in the monocoque of his Vitamindrip®-backed entry. Armed with a new monocoque for Mugello, Luke’s on-track performance was immediately hindered with chronic under-steer, the complete opposite of his team-mates who battled over-steer from the get-go.
Starting Saturday’s race from 24th, Chudleigh once again launched himself off the line and gained two spots. Mugello’s high-speed layout makes passing notoriously difficult but Luke’s prowess behind the wheel enabled the 19-year-old to work his way up to 19th by the checkered flag at the end of Lap 16.
The opening race was won by Nyck De Vries, the Dutchman claiming title honours in the process. Monaco’s Charles Leclerc and Brazilian Wild Card entrant, Bruno Bonifacio, joined him on the podium.
Sunday’s action ended early as heavy rain called a halt to the afternoon’s race 12 laps into proceedings. Having started 26th, Luke’s fast start and overtaking ability managed to see him climb to 21st by the time the race ended prematurely. A post race inspection from his team confirmed that the Canadian had been racing with a suspension issue, making his progress all the more remarkable.
Champion Nyck De Vries doubled up on his victory tally with Leclerc second again and Russian racer Matevos Isaakyan rounding out the podium.
“Well this really wasn’t the race weekend I was hoping for or expecting,” stated Chudleigh bluntly. “It’s definitely been the most difficult event of the season so far but despite that I can take some positives from the experience. First off, my thumb felt great after all my rehab and the fantastic support I’ve received from the likes of Vitamindrip® and Galea. I wish I’d been able to reward them with a better weekend but we showed some solid pace in the race and I made a few passes which can be hard to pull off at this track.
“I’m confident the team will get things straight for my next race in Budapest next weekend. With the cracked monocoque, the under-steer and then today’s suspension problems, we’ve really had a lot to contend with over the past few days. I know we’ll turn it around and get back to challenging at the sharp end as we’ve proved we can do throughout the season. I’m looking forward to racing at the Hungaroring in a week’s time and mixing it up with the Formula Renault 2.0 Eurocup field once again.”
Chudleigh will make his third start of the season in the 2014 Formula Renault 2.0 Eurocup Series next weekend, Friday 12th – Sunday 14th September, at the Hungaroring Circuit, just outside of Budapest and home of the Hungarian Grand Prix.
He’ll follow this up with the season finale of the Formula Renault 2.0 ALPS Series in Jerez, Spain, Friday 3rd – Sunday 5th October.
Luke Chudleigh is supported by Vitamindrip®, Chudleigh’s, ARM Training, Tech1 Racing, Adidas and PRIME/Wickens Management.
ENDS – www.lukechudleigh.com / @LukeChudleigh
