Ben Smith continues to show pace in Pro Eseries

Aiden Taylor 18 November 2020

Last night Round Four of the Repco Supercars Pro Eseries saw competitors take on a NASCAR-style oval track for the first time as well as the home of the Italian Grand Prix, Monza. Kelly Racing’s Pro Eseries pilot Ben Smith carried the NED Whisky Racing colours this week as he continued to build on his results.

The grid for the first race of the evening at Michigan International Speedway was set via a qualifying session in which Ben placed P13. Drafting is an essential part of oval racing – using the slipstream effect of the car ahead to increase speed and Ben was able to team up with several other drivers to use this to his advantage during qualifying.

In the first race Ben performed extremely well and with just five laps remaining he was fighting for the lead in a pack of four racers. Unfortunately several other cars caught onto the lead pack, resulting in a massive accident in which Ben was taken out of contention for the podium and he finished at the rear of the grid in P21.

The second race of the evening was a reverse grid format which meant Ben started in third place. Unfortunately Ben didn’t have the pace to maintain position as the slipstream effect is minimised when leading the field. He dropped back but was able to recover back up to P10 before getting taken out in the closing stages, leaving him to finish P20.

For the final race of the night, the Pro Eseries landed at Monza in Italy. Ben qualified in P16 for the start and was able to have a clean race and keep out of trouble. With a solid pit stop strategy and strong pace Ben was able to pick up five positions to come home P11.

Next week the Supercars Repco Pro Eseries heads to Spa Francorchamps in Belgium, while the second venue will be decided via a fan vote.

QUOTES

Benjamin Smith, Eseries Driver #151, Kelly Racing

“I’m pretty disappointed with how the oval circuits went, in both races I had a chance to get some really good results but just got unlucky with some of the carnage that unfolded in the final laps. In the first race we were fighting for a podium before we got taken out and then in the second race I recovered back to the lead pack after dropping back only to be taken out again with three laps to go.”

“Monza went much better, it’s another track where drafting is pretty important so I was able to hang with a group of cars and save some fuel then we were able to do a shorter pit stop which meant we jumped a bunch of cars so I’m pretty happy with how that played out.”

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Ben Smith continues to show pace in Pro Eseries

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