16 avril 2016
Norris and Defourny share the spoils at Motorland Aragón
After securing both pole positions on Saturday morning at Motorland Aragón, Max Defourny (R-ace GP) went on to win race one of the 2016 Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0. The Belgian driver took the chequers ahead of rookie Lando Norris (Josef Kaufmann Racing), who came back to triumph in race 2. The Englishman leads in the general classification from his rival. Jehan Daruvala (Josef Kaufmann Racing), Dorian Boccolacci (Tech 1 Racing) and Harrison Scott (AVF by Adrián Vallés) also starred, finishing on the podium.
Double pole position for Max Defourny
After leading the way in the collective tests, Max Defourny was back on form this morning, dominating his group to claim his first two pole positions in the Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0.
The Belgian driver lined-up ahead of Lando Norris and Dorian Boccolacci on the starting grid for both races. In race 1, Gabriel Aubry (Tech 1 Racing) and Sahara Force India Academy driver, Jehan Daruvala completed the top five. Harrison Scott and Robert Shwartzman (Josef Kaufmann Racing) preceded them in race 2 on Saturday.
Max Defourny wins round one
Despite the attempts of Lando Norris on the opening lap, Max Defourny controlled the race from the front. Further back, Dorian Boccolacci was trailed by Jehan Daruvala and Gabriel Aubry. The race was marked by the accident of Alessandro Perullo (Technorace) on lap three. The Italian driver drove over the top of Rodrigo Pflucker (Cram Motorsport) before running into Hugo de Sadeleer (Tech 1 Racing) while the Peruvian driver could continue ; the other two were forced to retire.
In the final laps, Max Defourny sealed the victory ahead of Lando Norris. Dorian Boccolacci plummeted down the order, as did his team mate Gabriel Aubry. Jehan Daruvala moved up to take third ahead of Harrison Scott and Robert Shwartzmann. Bruno Baptista (Fortec Motorsports) finished sixth and was followed by Henrique Chaves (AVF by Adrián Vallés), wild-card entry Nikita Troitskiy (Fortec Motorsports), Alexey Korneev (JD Motorsport) and Ferdinand Habsburg (Fortec Motorsports). Eleventh place Dorian Boccolacci picked up the final point on offer.
Norris gets his revenge
This time Lando Norris got the better of Max Defourny on lap one. The Brit quickly pulled away from the Belgian driver, who was surprised by Dorian Boccolacci on lap three.
The safety car was called into service on the next lap after the incident between Nikita Troitskiy and Vasily Romanov (Fortec Motorsports) at the hairpin. While the positions went unchanged at the restart, rain began to spice up matters in the field. Harrison Scott overtook Max Defourny, while others committed unforced errors.
Little bothered, Lando Norris went on for the win and the lead in the general classification. Dorian Boccolacci and Harrison Scott too finished on the podium ahead of Max Defourny and Jehan Daruvala. Eleventh on the grid, Will Palmer (R-ace GP) moved up the field to finish sixth and was followed by Ferdinand Habsburg, Robert Shwartzman, Henrique Chaves and Gabriel Aubry.
Quotes
Lando Norris : “Race one let me get a good start to the season even though we didn’t win. The second race was hard with the weather conditions, because you never know what to expect when you are leading a race. I made a small mistake, but I didn’t lose too much time. The hardest part was nevertheless passing Max at the start. We were side by side just until he lifted. It is good to win, but there is a long way to go in the season.”
Dorian Boccolacci : “We were in good shape this morning, but a few laps from the end, I couldn’t down shift. It was a problem when I came to the end of the straight, but I managed to save one point. I wanted to finish on the podium in race 2 to give the team confidence. Mission accomplished… We want to start on Sunday on better form in order to finish one spot better.”
Jehan Daruvala : “I am very happy with my result from race 1. I was disappointed after qualifying, but I had the chance to move up the order and finish on the podium. I am thrilled to have gotten these good points, because being consistent is an obligation in this category.”
Provisional General Classification*
1. Lando Norris (Josef Kaufmann Racing) 43
2. Max Defourny (R-ace GP) 37
3. Harrison Scott (AVF by Adrián Vallés) 27
4. Jehan Daruvala (Josef Kaufmann Racing) 25
5. Dorian Boccolacci (Tech 1 Racing) 19
...
*Subject to confirmation of the results following the technical and sporting verifications
Qualifying Group A - Fastest lap - pdf
Qualifying Group A - 2nd fastest lap - pdf
Qualifying Group B - Fastest lap - pdf
