British sportscar racer Andy Meyrick missed out on the chance to fight for a second consecutive podium finish of the 2020 Michelin Le Mans Cup (MLMC) season after misfortune curtailed his race at Monza on Saturday, 10 October, before he’d even raced the United Autosports Ligier JS P320 LMP3 he shares with Daniel Schneider.
The duo had recorded a brilliant third place in the rain at Paul Ricard at the end of August.
This time in beautiful autumn sunshine, Schneider looked set to capitalise on a stunning race start when a mechanical failure ended his stint just before Meyrick was about to take over.
Having qualified in eighth at the famous Italian circuit, set in Monza’s Royal Park, Schneider hustled his way up to sixth position through the Rettifilio Chicane at the start. He then kept close tabs on the leaders in the early laps.
Sixth became fifth when two rivals collided in front of Schneider at the first Safety Car restart, and he was running in the leading group when he forced to retire, preventing Meyrick from capitalising on the duo’s prodigious pace.
“Daniel did an extraordinary job during his opening stint to fight his way up to P5 and he was closing down the leaders,” said Meyrick. “It’s a real shame because the entire team deserved the result our pace and our potential pointed to this weekend.
“It’s very disappointing for everybody when something like this happens, but I’m proud of everybody at United Autosport for the work that we have put in this week and the fast car that we had to race with. Based on this performance, I am sure that we can challenge for the race victory next time out at Portimão.”
Meyrick will next be in action on 1 November, for the final round of the MLMC at Portimão in Portugal.
