David Vidales had to endure a disappointing Fanatec GT World Endurance Challenge Endurance Cup race at the iconic Autodromo Nazionale Monza today after the Ferrari 296 GT3 he shared with Thomas Neubauer and Yifei Ye failed to take the starting grid of the three-hour race due to a technical issue.

Even before the massive 52-strong field lined up on the grid, the AF Corse-Francorchamps Motors Ferrari, with Neubauer at the wheel, developed a problem with the exhaust manifold which began to smoke at the rear and as the cars completed their formation lap, the problem re-emerged, so the team opted to pull the #71 car off the grid and take it back into the garage to work on the engine.

As a result, the Ferrari eventually started nine laps down in 44th position after losing 30 minutes, which effectively meant that its race was over right at the start.

Vidales, who drove through the second hour, and Yifei Ye did what they could for the rest of the time remaining, the trio finishing in 34th position, nine laps behind the eventual winners Al Harthy/De Haan/Klingmann (OQ by Oman Racing BMW).

“This one is hard to digest,” declared David. “Not even being able to take part in the start of the race due to a technical issue and not having the chance to fight for something, hurts. It’s a cruel sport sometimes but we win and lose together. After 20 minutes of the race, we managed to go on track and finish the race. Still, in my stint, I tried to do my best and learned as much as possible and when you see your pace is as good as the leader, it hurts even more, but let’s try not to think about the things we cannot control. We’ll be back stronger. Thanks to all the tifosi who came to Monza this weekend, you were fantastic!”

The final event on Vidales’ five-race Endurance GT racing calendar will be the Six Hours of Jeddah (Saudi Arabia) from 28 to 30 November.