Formula Renault 2.0
Nyck de Vries (Koiranen GP) secured his very first Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 victory in Budapest on Sunday. After making a perfect getaway at the lights, the McLaren Young Driver Programme snatched the lead at the first corner and raced away to win from Oscar Tunjo (Josef Kaufmann Racing) and Oliver Rowland (Manor MP Motorsport), who regained the lead in the championship standings.
Nyck de Vries (Koiranen GP) secured his very first Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 victory in Budapest on Sunday. After making a perfect getaway at the lights, the McLaren Young Driver Programme snatched the lead at the first corner and raced away to win from Oscar Tunjo (Josef Kaufmann Racing) and Oliver Rowland (Manor MP Motorsport), who regained the lead in the championship standings.
Oliver Rowland qualified in pole for the second time this season, the British driver edging out Nyck de Vries by a few thousandths of a second, with Oscar Tunjo, Esteban Ocon (ART Junior Team) and Ignazio D’Agosto (KTR) rounding off the front five.
Nyck de Vries and Oscar Tunjo were fastest away at the start and both darted past poleman Oliver Rowland, who dropped down third with Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly (Tech 1 Racing) behind him. Alejandro Abogado (Interwetten.com Racing) was the only driver not to complete the opening lap.
Safely installed in the lead, Nyck de Vries pulled out a healthy advantage as the laps went by, and when Oscar Tunjo set about cutting the gap at the midway point, the Dutchman responded. It was a similar story further down the field, with a succession of duels being fought out on the twisting Hungaroring track.
Picking up the pace in the closing stages, Nyck de Vries posted a string of fastest laps and eased home to take his first Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 victory from Oscar Tunjo and Oliver Rowland. The Briton’s third place proved enough to give him a one-point championship lead over Pierre Gasly, who had to be content with fifth behind Esteban Ocon. Ignazio D’Agosto was sixth and Ed Jones (Fortec Motorsports) seventh, with Egor Orudzhev (Tech 1 Racing), Jake Dennis (Fortec Motorsports) and Andrea Pizzitola (ART Junior Team) also getting in among the points.
What they said
Nyck de Vries: “Words can’t describe how happy I feel. We had a horrible start to the season and it looks like the summer break did us a power of good. I hope we can keep this going. I’d like to thank everyone who’s supported me through these difficult times and we’re going to celebrate this together now.”
Oscar Tunjo: “It’s a good result for us. The last few races have been a bit difficult and we’re delighted to be back on the podium and scoring big points again. I managed to get past Oliver at the start, and finishing in the top three is a reward for all the good work the team’s done this weekend.”
Oliver Rowland: “I think I was a bit lucky to get pole because five thousandths of a second is nothing in qualifying. I’m not happy with the start I made. We’ve tried lots of things and new techniques but when I let the brakes go today nothing happened. Even so, the aim was to get the points lead back and we’ve done that.”
Provisional Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 standings: 1. O. Rowland 138 points; 2. P. Gasly 137; 3. E. Ocon 101; 4. O. Tunjo 89; 5. J. Dennis 88.
Official Renault Sport Press Release.