Brose Motorsport: Disappointment for the second time

The Modena Cento Ore is a combination of circuit racing and rally special stages. Over four days, the race teams travel more than 1,000 kilometers on the most beautiful roads of Emilia Romagna and Tuscany.

After dropping out in 2019 while leading at the end of the first day, Portuguese racer Tiago Monteiro and German entrepreneur Michael Stoschek wanted to take the overall victory this time, but again a technical problem prevented success.

In the end, the realization remained that even a former Formula 1 driver and one of the leading drivers in the World Touring Car Championship and a former European Rally Champion have no chance of winning if their car does not work one hundred percent.

The program from June 9-12, 2021, included three circuit races with a total of 111 kilometers on the legendary courses of Misano, Imola and Mugello, driven by Tiago Monteiro, as well as nine special stages with a total of 78 kilometers on the closed-off mountain roads, some of which were extremely narrow, with Michael Stoschek at the wheel.

Tiago Monteiro won the very first race in Misano in the Porsche Carrera 3.0 IROC and, thanks to Michael Stoschek's good times on the first three special stages, the Brose team was in first place at the end of the first day. The crucial problem became apparent as early as the second day: the gear ratio in fifth gear was too short for the long straights in Imola, which meant that the Porsche was on the limiter for longer passages from 7,800 rpm onwards while the competition was able to catch up. In addition, oil leaked into the clutch at the end of the race, so propulsion was lost.

This problem did not occur on the special stages, so Stoschek/Monteiro finished the second day in 2nd place overall.

The limited top speed in fifth gear then led to retirement on the third day at the race in Mugello. Due to oil leaking from the overloaded engine, Tiago Monteiro was shown the black flag by race control. The worst time of all participants plus three penalty minutes threw the Brose team back to 18th place overall.

After intensive discussions, the drivers and the service mechanics decided to continue with the aim of trying to catch up and finish among the top 10. Now Michael Stoschek had to prove his skills and experience on the remaining four special stages. After the first two special stages, 10th place had already been achieved and after the two special stages on the final day, 9th place overall.

In the end, Michael Stoschek was 36 seconds behind the winning Italian Perfetti after nine special stages and 78 kilometers. Tiago Monteiro would have easily made up for this on the 111 kilometers of the circuit.

Nevertheless, the weekend was a great success for Brose Motorsport. Dominik Dinkel won the first round of the German Rally Championship and Patrik Dinkel won the German Rally Masters.