Eoin Murray took an emphatic victory, by a margin of 4.8 seconds, in the feature race of the Seat Leon Supercopa at Jerez in Spain this weekend. The result ensures that the championship battle will go right down to the wire in Barcelona in a fortnight’s time. It will be a three way battle between Eoin and Spanish drivers Marc Carol and Oscar Nogues.
Eoin qualified in 6th position for the first race of the weekend however he was adjudged to have set his fastest time by improving his time in a yellow flag sector and had to suffer the disappointment of being penalised back to 11th position on the grid for the race. In the race Murray quickly improved his position to finish a credible 7th and gave himself a decent platform for race two. A solid start in race two saw Murray pass the championship leader Marc Carol and move to fifth position at the midway stage in the seven-lap sprint race. Knowing that seventh would give him a front row start for the feature race (top 6 positions reversed) and with both drivers ahead not registered for championship points it was the perfect result.
The pressure was on for the Sunday morning feature race. Murray knew he had to win to keep his championship hopes alive. He did not disappoint as he passed pole-man Carol at the second corner and continued to open a comfortable gap taking the chequered flag some 4.8 seconds ahead of championship rivals Marc Carol & Oscar Nogues and posting fastest lap in the process.
Eoin commented after the race: “We were ‘on the back foot’ after a difficult practice session and then the penalty on qualifying made matters worse. I didn’t panic at any point and I was confident we could turn the situation around. I knew I had to win Sunday’s race and it was also important to try and get the point for fastest lap. Everything worked out as planned and my team Oasis Motorsport gave me the fastest car on the day which was rewarded with a comfortable win”.
The Championship standings, after the weekend and including dropped rounds has Eoin in third position just 5 points behind Oscar Nogues and 22 points behind the leader Marc Carol. Murray now moves ahead of newly crowned European champion Norbert Michelisz with a 12 point advantage over the Hungarian driver going into the final round.
Eoin comments about his title hopes at Barcelona: “I feel I can still win the Championship however it will not come easy as we have a big mountain to climb. Championship leader Marc Carol will be the one under pressure and I will not be giving up until the chequered flag drops in the final race”
Eoin’s next race is 30th October/1st November at circuit de Catalunya in Barcelona, Spain.