Persberichten - Worst Race of Career

Worst Race of Career

North American F3 driver Monty Semprini threw away an impressive second row grid slot with several mental errors to finish a drab ninth in a Denver Sprint race that he described as the worst of his career.

"I put my helmet on before the race but I guess I left my brain in the garage," the Canadian offered after the race. "I have to apologize to Tim (Richmond) and Dan (Hass) for what happened out there. I'm sorry."

What happened out there were two collisions, both early in the race and both making Semprini look conspicuously guilty. The first one occurred on the opening lap when Monty shut the door on Richmond into the final turn, snapping the American's front right suspension and ending his race.

"I was watching the car in front and took a wide line for a good exit, then I turned in and was surprised that he was there. I shouldn't have left the door that wide open if I intended to close it. My fault," he explained.

One lap after the restart from the caution, while nursing his own damaged vehicle, Semprini clouted Hass down the front straight.

"The line moves across the track but I stayed to the right to protect the corner. Then I moved out a little bit but didn't expect that he was trying on the outside. I guess I was that slow. No excuse. I need to pay more attention. Stupid."

Hass immediately pit. The young Canadian would eventually storm back to fourth place with the drive of the day.

As for Semprini, the day was full of promise as he qualified third, but within a tenth-and-a-half of pole man and series leader Etorre Ferrari. The first lap clash with Richmond dropped him to seventh. he would struggle the rest of the way.

"I was really excited for this race. We had a chance to make a move in the championship," said Monty. "I don't particularly care for this track but I always run well here. The car was the best that it's been all year. This should have been a podium. Today may have ruined the whole season."

Adding insult to injury, on lap 21 of the Denver street circuit, Semprini locked up under braking for turn 4 and had to lift to avoid the wall, losing a place to Mario Durdik.

"All around an embarrassing day," he summed up.

Since his opening victory in the first race of the year it has been a troubling season for the enigmatic Canadian.

"We seem to have hit a ceiling in terms of pace. We qualify decent and then just go backwards in all the races. I try so hard to just bring the car home in one piece yet all I get are errors and mechanical failures," he explained. "Perhaps I need to fins a new approach to the routine. It's not working."

Race Link: http://www.myracingcareer.com/en/report/7-757/