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Round
4 – World Series by Renault, Misano
Circuit, Italy Sean McIntosh, #6 Team KTR, Race 1 –
Qualified: 6th / Finished: DNF
Canada’s Sean McIntosh was denied a top-six
finish in today’s World Series by Renault race at Misano as he was collected
from behind by Italy’s Davide Valsecchi just three laps shy of the checkered
flag. Having scored back-to-back points
finishes last month in Turkey,
McIntosh’s hopes of adding to his tally this weekend now rest on tomorrow’s
29-lap race.
Race
1, Qualifying (Pole – Pastor Maldonado, 1m18.517s) A consistent presence in the top-ten
throughout the two days of free practice heading into this morning’s Race 1
qualifying session, Sean ramped up his performance to claim his highest grid
position of the season with a sixth place effort. One of the first drivers to go under the
1m20’ mark, the Team KTR racer became the first in Group A qualifying to dip
below 1m19s around the 4.06km Misano Circuit.
McIntosh remained fastest in his group until Sebastien Vettel pipped his
time of 1m18.936s by a mere 17/1000ths of a second before he too was bumped by
Ben Hanley in the dying seconds of the session.
Race 1, 21 Laps (Winner – Pastor Maldonado, Draco
Multiracing USA) Charging at the start Sean ended up being squeezed off line
at the first turn dropping two spots down to eighth. He quickly responded on the next lap passing
Valsecchi for seventh place at the third turn.
The race was interrupted by a brief safety car period on lap 3 but
racing resumed two laps later and Sean found himself in a train of cars backing
up behind Carlin Motorsport’s Michael Aleshin.
McIntosh shadowed and eventually caught a passing
opportunity on lap 18 as Aleshin went sideways exiting turn 12. The Canadian got a run beside him and passed
on the inside line heading to the next corner.
Behind Sean, Epsilon Euskadi’s Davide Valsecchi lunged optimistically at
the turn and succeeded only in smashing into the rear of the innocent
Canadian’s car taking both drivers out on the spot as well as Christian
Montanari, Sean’s day ending with a DNF.
Sean McIntosh - #6
Team KTR: “It’s unfortunate that the race ended for me the way it did
as I had decent race pace following my best qualifying turn of the season. I just have to do it all again tomorrow!”
Race 2 (29 Laps), including a mandatory pit-stop, starts
tomorrow at 1pm CET.
ENDS – www.seanmcintosh.com
For further
information or image requests please contact Stuart Morrison Public Relations:
Tel: +1 514 684 3253 / Cell: +1 514 945 3253 / Email: stuart@sm-pr.com |
