Julius Martin’s run of bad luck in the networking racing series World eX Bizz continues. At the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal, he was only 42 thousandths of a second behind championship leader Devin Braune in qualifying. Nevertheless, Martin missed the podium in both races.
Martin tackled the kerbs in Montreal particularly aggressively and seemed to have a real chance of ending Devin Braune’s winning streak. In the first race, he fended off an attack by Steffen Walter in Turn 1 and then kept visual contact with the series dominator. On lap 7 of 15, however, the three-time Bizz champion suddenly had to retire due to a disconnect.
In the second race with reversed grid, Julius Martin fought his way to the front. On the very last lap, however, he was hit on the rear by Chris Overend in the hairpin, who had underestimated the effect of the dirty air under braking.
“This is just not my season,” Martin said after the renewed disappointment. “The racing was still tremendous fun.”
While the first race was relatively quiet, things really got going in the second race. It took Devin Braune an unusually long time to work his way up to the front. It was only shortly before half-time that he took the lead. Behind him, Julius Martin, Chris Overend, Frank Enger, Markus Martin and Steffen Walter formed a close-knit group of five cars that repeatedly swapped positions.
The beneficiaries of the last-lap clash between Chris Overend and Julius Martin were mainly Frank Enger and Steffen Walter, who claimed second and third places behind Devin Braune who celebrated his 14thconsecutive win.
Frank Enger secured victory in the AM category in both races. Steffen Walter consolidated his second place in the overall World eX Bizz standings with two podiums and with it the prospect of a front-row start at the Super Finale on the Nürburgring-Nordschleife.
Bizz rookie Johannes Meinck managed his best qualifying result to date with fifth place on the grid. However, a contact with Chris Overend on Lap 1 thwarted a top result. He finished seventh in the second race.
Luisa Skottke, the daughter of “Skottie”, made her debut in the World eX Bizz for tv racing in Montreal.
