Former British Touring Car Championship racer Eoin Murray finished in second place on his debut in the Clio Cup at Misano in Italy last weekend.
The Irish driver was invited by Rangoni Motorsport to take part in the penultimate round of the season to help their driver Oscar Nogues, former SEAT Leon Eurocup champion, to claim the title.
Murray's weekend got off to a perfect start when he topped the timesheets in the Friday free practice session. In qualifying session he took third position on the grid, just behind teammate Nogues and 0.138s behind polesitter and one-time World Touring Car racer Vito Postiglione.
At the start of Race 1 Murray shadowed his teammate in third place during the early stages. Nogues meanwhile was trying to take the lead from Postiglione, and succeeded in getting past on the penultimate lap. Murray then followed his teammate through a couple of corners later to take second place on the final lap and secure a 1-2 finish for the team in his first race.
Sunday's Race 2 would see the top eight reversed on the grid, with heavy rain prior to the start. As Murray lined up on the grid an intermittent electrical problem kicked in and meant his car would not re-start. Once he did eventually get it going he was a few seconds behind the 34 car field. He fought his way through half of the pack and finished 16th.
His strong performance over the weekend has led to Rangoni Motorsport inviting him back for the season finale at Varano on 25th September where they hope to claim the title with Nogues.
“The weekend was fantastic and I was especially satisfied with Race 1,” said Murray. “I did what was asked of me and second position was the maximum I could achieve. Race 2 was a little disappointing with the electrical problem but it's always satisfying fighting past so many cars.
“The team have invited me back for the final round in Varano which should be exciting. I've learned a lot about the car and maximising the tyres during the event and as a result should be even stronger at the next event.”
