Inter Europol Competition are determined to continue their fight for the WEC LMP2 Teams’ and Drivers’ titles after claiming fifth place at the 6 Hours of Monza.
The Polish outfit retained second place in the LMP2 standings after two maiden WEC podiums boosted their title chances.
After their first at Spa-Francorchamps, they followed up with an LMP2 class victory at the centenary 24 Hours of Le Mans.
They won from 13th position in the secondary prototype class, a feat never claimed by any other LMP2 entry before.
“We know that you cannot win every race, and today we scored important points for the championship,” said team manager Sascha Fassbender after Monza.
“We are second in the championship, and our rival scored, I think, five points more (#41 Team WRT), but there are still two races still to go.”
Albert Costa Balboa qualified their Oreca 07-Gibson for fifth in the LMP2 field after setting a 1:39.894 lap time.
Jakub Smiechowski drove a competitive opening stint before handing the #34 to Fabio Scherer with a three-lap early pit stop compared to their rivals.
The Swiss driver made the most of clear track space to climb to third position before falling to fourth.
In the hands of Scherer and Costa, the team ran within sight of the LMP2 leaders throughout the six hours.
A late Full-Course-Yellow forced them to perform an emergency pit stop which was limited by regulation to just five seconds-worth of fuel, followed by a formal pit stop three laps later.
Costa brought the #34 home to score 10 points, as pole-sitters #41 Team WRT finished third and scored 15 points to retain their championship lead.
Fassbender concluded: “Now we focus fully on these rounds in Fuji and Bahrain, and we’ll push and fight for the championship to the very end.
“The team did a fantastic job; the pit stops went like clockwork.
“We have a very strong crew and driver lineup, and we worked hard to achieve this result.
“We will work even harder to get the result we wish for.”
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