After the drama of the two Road to Le Mans races at the Circuit de La Sarthe last month, the Michelin Le Mans Cup returns to the 2-hour race format at the Autodromo Nazionale di Monza in Italy.
The 5.8km ‘Temple of Speed’ has seen some action-packed racing over the past few Michelin Le Mans Cup seasons and the 2020 grid promises more of the same.
Twenty-three cars are entered for Round 5 of the 2020 Michelin Le Mans Cup in Italy, with 16 LMP3 and 7 GT3 competitors. Fifteen teams and forty-six drivers will take part representing 17 different nations.
LMP3 – Will it be another DKR Engineering v Cool Racing Battle in Monza?
After taking one win and one second place each at the Road to Le Mans, all eyes will be on the no3 DKR Engineering Duqueine of Jean Glorieux and Laurents Hörr and the no37 Cool Racing Ligier of Nicolas Maulini and Edouard Cauhaupe to see who will come out on top in Monza.
Glorieux and Hörr currently have 80 points, 19 more than Maulini and Cauhaupe, and are on the cusp of clinching their second Le Mans Cup Drivers title and the fourth for DKR Engineering.However, with 52 points still on offer the fight is far from over.
Round 3 winner Maurice Smith is lying in third in the drivers’ championship on 55 points and will once again team up with his fellow race winner Matt Bell in the no69 Cool Racing Ligier after they took two podium finishes at Le Mans.
The no26 Graff Ligier of Matthias Kaiser and Rory Penttinen is another car to watch in Monza after taking pole position and a second-place finish in Round 3 at Le Castellet.
GT3 – Can Mastronardi Secure the 2020 title on Home Turf?
Double race winner Rino Mastronardi is the current championship leader as the Michelin Le Mans Cup prepares to race on his home track at Monza in the no8 Iron Lynx Ferrari 488 GT3.
The Italian has 90 points, 15 more than his teammate Giacomo Piccini, who missed the Le Castellet 120 in August and can’t win the drivers crown as long as he is partnering Mastronardi, and 28 points ahead of David Perel and Michael Broniszewski in the no74 Kessel Racing Ferrari.With 52 points still available, as long as the no8 Ferrari leaves Monza more than 26 points ahead then the championship will be decided.
Round 3 winners Julien Andlauer and Nicolas Leutwiler are hoping for better luck than they had in Le Mans, with the only Porsche on the GT3 grid sure to be a challenger for the race win in Italy.
Round 5 of the 2020 Michelin Le Mans Cup will take place on Saturday 10 October.
CLICK HERE for the provisional entry list for Monza
