Andrea Pizzitola and Steijn Schothorst got Manor MP Motorsport’s Formula Renault 2.0 Northern European Cup season off to a fantastic start at Monza in Italy over the weekend, 12th/13th April, with both drivers claiming podium silverware during the opening event of the campaign.With very little to separate the team-mates over the course of the weekend, it was unsurprising and very fitting for Pizzitola and Schothorst to conclude the event tied for third in the provisional driver standings – each also adding a fifth place finish to their respective tallies.Frenchman Pizzitola, who had qualified third fastest for Saturday’s race, made an excellent getaway to climb into second position on the run to the Rettifilo Chicane but soon had to focus on his mirrors with Ukyo Sasahara applying major pressure. Passed into the Variante della Roggia on lap four, and then elbowed down to fourth, Pizzitola moved back into third on lap six where he stayed to the flag.Schothorst started the encounter in eighth place but quickly climbed into the top five and mounted a strong bid for fourth position mid-race, before settling for fifth. Team-mates Philip Morin and Julio Moreno had mixed fortunes, Ecuadorian racer Moreno finishing a very impressive 17th from 28th on the grid while Morin worked his way into 12th position from 19th before spinning out on lap 11.In round two on Sunday it was Dutchman Schothorst’s turn to climb the podium, producing a great drive from third on the grid. Challenging for second into the first chicane, he had to tuck back in to third place and the lead trio then pulled well clear of the rest of the pack after a lap one incident at Ascari chicane delayed the pursuers.Holding third place throughout, Schothorst ensured Manor MP Motorsport celebrated two podiums from two outings with an excellent performance. Pizzitola made tremendous progress from 10th on the grid at the start, moving into seventh on lap one, sixth on lap two and then capping his rise through the order with fifth at the end of lap nine when Alexander Albon pitted.Swedish driver Morin made up for his unfortunate excursion in the opening race to post a 16th place finish in round two, having had to recover from outside the top 20 after being edged back from 19th place at the start. Moreno, beginning the encounter from 26th position, made superb progress again to end the race just 0.4 seconds behind team-mate Morin in 17th place.“It’s fantastic to start the NEC season with a podium in each race”, said Manor MP Motorsport’s Tony Shaw, “Andrea and Steijn both did a great job all weekend, they were very quick, raced well and were really evenly matched. We’ve been very impressed by the race performances Philip and Julio produced, they’ve both got a lot to learn but definitely made a great start this weekend.”Competitive GP2 Series start for De Jong bodes well for 2014 seasonOne week on from the opening two races of the GP2 Series season at the Sakhir International Circuit in Bahrain, MP Motorsport is buoyant for the remainder of the campaign with Daniël De Jong just missing out on a points finish in the championship curtain-raiser.Making superb progress from 22nd on the grid during round one on Saturday, 5th April, the Dutchman climbed steadily up the order during the early running and as the mandatory pit-stops started to be taken he remained on track to work his way into the top five.After pitting for fresh tyres with 10 laps to go, the 21-year-old rejoined outside the top 15 but showed good pace on his way to an 11th place finish on lap 32, only 0.9 seconds shy of the points paying positions. In round two on Sunday, 6th April, De Jong added another 11th position finish and was part of an entertaining five-car battle for the top eight – less than two seconds splitting them.British racer Jon Lancaster qualified within just 0.6 seconds of pole position in 11th place for round one in the second MP car and after a clean start he took his pit-stop early when the race fell under Safety Car conditions on lap four. Climbing towards the top 10 into the closing stages, a moment late in the race dropped him to 17th position. In round two, Lancaster posted a top 15 finish.“Bahrain was OK for us in the end”, said team principal Sander Dorsman, “We wanted to score some points on the first weekend of the GP2 season, but we saw encouraging signs from Daniël – he raced very well. It was great working with Jon and having him in the team. Things didn’t work out as they should have for him but we all know what a quick driver he is, he proved that in qualifying.”Next on the racing calendar for Manor MP Motorsport will be the opening two races of the Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 season on 26th/27th April at Motorland Aragon in Spain. Two weeks later, the MP Motorsport GP2 Series squad will return to action at the Circuit de Catalunya in Barcelona.