Magnificent Monza around the corner for Das

With the season back underway in earnest Cameron Das will return to the cockpit and launch in to action this weekend as the 2018 Euroformula Open Championship makes its way to Monza, Italy, for the sixth round of the year. Das, coming in to the weekend off the back of a podium last time out at Silverstone, returns to a circuit he knows and considers to be a “favorite on this year’s calendar.”

With history all around the Italian track is legendary for the battles it has seen over the years, the atmosphere it provides thanks to the passionate fans as well as the iconic and challenging corners. A dream for slip-streaming, Monza often delivers the chance for exciting overtaking which can be fewer and far between at other tracks – as a result, the nose to tail action leaves viewers on the edge of their seats.

Das, who has raced at the 3.6-mile circuit in the past knows this all too well. Last year, in only his second Euroformula Open race weekend, the talented American racer fought well to secure two top ten finishes enjoying multiple fights for position along the way. The busy nature of the track means keeping focused throughout the weekend is essential; driving well to gain a slip-stream during the all-important qualifying, while not giving the advantage away to a competitor behind, can often become one of the biggest challenges of the weekend.

Monza will also provide an additional day of testing for Das with Thursday being used to work through what will no doubt be a busy but constructive test plan over the course of the five hours on offer.

Last time out at Silverstone Das drove well to return to the podium following a brilliant defensive drive in the final race of the weekend. Standing back on the podium Das now intends to add to his achievements from the 2018 season so far which total an impressive nine top-six finishes including three podiums and a fastest lap to see him sit fifth overall in the championship classification.

“Monza is one of my favorites on this year’s calendar,” Das said about the upcoming round. “I had the chance to race there last year which will serve me well for this weekend. It’s a circuit that is amazing to race on – I didn’t have a single dull lap in either of the races last year, so hopefully the case will be the same for this one.

“Running low downforce is a completely different feeling, so maximizing the practice time provided on Thursday and Friday will be crucial.”

The full weekend schedule is as follows (local times):

Thursday:
09:00 – 12:30 – Testing 1
13:30 – 14:15 – Testing 2
15:35 – 16:20 – Testing 3

Friday:
10:10 – 10:45 – Free Practice 1
13:55 – 14:30 – Free Practice 2

Saturday:
10:25 – 10:55 – Qualifying 1
14:45 – Race 1 (16 laps)

Sunday:
09:00 – 09:30 – Qualifying 2
13:15 – Race 2 (16 laps)