McIntosh just outside the points with 11th place Monaco debut

World Series by Renault, Monte Carlo, Monaco Sean McIntosh, #6 Team KTR – Qualified 18th, Finished 11th

Courtesy A1 Team Canada, Stuart Morrison Public Relations

Sean McIntosh just missed out on opening his World Series by Renault points account today as the Canadian stand-out finished 11th on his debut at the illustrious Monaco street circuit, a mere five tenths of a second the gap to the tenth and the final points paying position.

With the start of each race at Monaco offering the best opportunity for overtaking, Sean failed to disappoint as the 26-strong field sprinted to the first turn on the 3.34km track, the 21-year-old picking up a handful of places in the #6 KTR entry. Amazingly the entire field successfully threaded itself through the turn but it wasn’t long before Sean found himself defending his line from Carlin Motorsport’s Mikhail Aleshin. Having seen off the challenge from the Russian, Sean found himself hooked up to the gearbox of Interwetten’s Andy Soucek.

While McIntosh undoubtedly had the faster of the two race cars, Monaco’s tight confines ensured his rival could safeguard his position and despite the Vancouver racer’s best efforts, Soucek held his station. The two would run nose- to-tail all the way to the checkered flag at the end of a caution-free 25-laps.

McIntosh came home 11th for his first finish of the season, just five tenths of a second behind Soucek who picked up the final point for rounding out the top-ten. Pastor Maldonado collected today’s win, the Venezuelan driver scoring Draco Multiracing USA’s second successive victory in the Principality.

Sean McIntosh - #6 Team KTR:
“Well it was good to finally get some laps in! I made a great start but it was very difficult to pass Soucek. I was beside him twice, once at the first turn, the other time at Rascasse but it’s virtually impossible to pass at Monaco. Given I’ve never raced here before and with the way qualifying went I’m reasonably satisfied with today’s outcome. I obviously wanted to finish in the points but I learned a lot today and it was simply a great experience to race here!”

The World Series by Renault now heads to Istanbul Park, Turkey for Round 3, 17th-18th June, 2006.