Victory number 1 for Pic and Tech 1 Racing
After a dispapointing weekend at Motorland Aragon, Tech 1 Racing's Arthur Pic found his feet at Spa-Francorchamps, collecting his first Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 win. The Frenchman finished in front of Korainen Bros Racing's Kevin Korjus, who strengthened his lead in the overall points, and Epsilon Euskadi’s Genis Olivé.
In qualifying, Arthur Pic claimed both pole positions, in particular thanks to his mastery of the second half of the circuit. The Frenchman started in front of Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 championship leader Kevin Korjus, and Genis Olivé. The three drivers lined up facing the Eau Rouge bend, as the Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 race started in the direction of the Endurance pits, in the descent leading to the famous corner.
Pic made a perfect start, while Olivé overtook Korjus. Olivé was keen to get the better of Pic under braking at Combes, but the Spaniard ran wide, as did teammates Alex Riberas and Giovanni Venturini, Cram Competition’s André Negrao, and Korainen Bros Motorsport’s Bart Hykelma and Miki Weckstrom. Only Olivé recovered, rejoining the race in 4th place, while the other drivers were forced to retire. The safety car was brought out ahead of Pic, Korjus and One Racing's Daniel Mancinelli.
At the restart, Pic managed to hold on to first place as Mancinelli got stuck into Korjus. The Italian tried to take advantage of Korjus' slipstream in the entry to Combes, but Korjus held him off effortlessly, leaving Mancinelli to contend with the advances of Olivé. Meanwhile, the positions remained unchanged. Behind the tightly spaced leading foursome, One Racing's Jordan Oakes overtook Korainen Bros Motorsport's Jukka Honkavuori to gain 5th place. However, the British driver span off on lap 6, handing his position to the Finn. Meanwhile, Epsilon Euskadi’s Miguel Otegui, who started 13th on the grid, took advantage of the confusion to jump up the field and snatch fifth place.
After biding his time for a few laps, Pic had managed to build a narrow lead over Korjus while Mancinelli fought hard to hold off Olivé, who seemed more determined than ever following his spin at the start of the race. The Spaniard finally saw his chance, snatching third place.
Up in front, the positions would remain the same. Having claimed both pole positions, Pic now claims his first Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 win, leading Kevin Korjus who once again appeared very solid today. The Estonian holds onto his lead, while Olivé finished third after a chaotic start.
Arthur Pic: “I needed this win after a difficult weekend at Motorland. I took both poles, which was the first step. Then I had to make sure I got a good start. I made some mistakes after the restart, but I came good. It’s a major victory.”
Kevin Korjus: “We’ve got a good car, but I wasn’t 100% confident on the circuit. I’ve still not quite got to grips with it, so it’s great to finish second and score more points."
Genis Olivé : “I made a very good start and I managed to draw level with Arthur. He braked late, I tried to follow suit, but it didn't work. After that I came back fighting, we were fast and I managed to beat Daniel Mancinelli. I’m very happy with this podium finish.”
Pos | Number | Driver | Team | Laps | Time | Gap | KPH |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 5 | Arthur PIC | TECH 1 RACING | 11 | 27:55.914 | - | 180.8 |
2 | 28 | Kevin KORJUS | KOIRANEN BROS MOTORSPORT | 11 | 27:58.891 | +2.977 | 180.3 |
3 | 1 | Genís OLIVÉ | EPSILON EUSKADI | 11 | 28:01.517 | +5.603 | 180.1 |
4 | 23 | Daniel MANCINELLI | ONE RACING | 11 | 28:05.022 | +9.108 | 179.8 |
5 | 2 | Miguel OTEGUI | EPSILON EUSKADI | 11 | 28:12.137 | +16.223 | 178.9 |
6 | 18 | Luciano BACHETA | INTERWETTEN | 11 | 28:12.388 | +16.474 | 179.5 |
7 | 11 | Adam KOUT | KRENEK MOTORSPORT | 11 | 28:12.621 | +16.707 | 179.4 |
8 | 7 | Aaro VAINIO | TECH 1 RACING | 11 | 28:13.516 | +17.602 | 179.0 |
9 | 9 | Karl Oscar LIIV | MP MOTORSPORT | 11 | 28:18.959 | +23.045 | 179.2 |
10 | 16 | Henrique MARTINS | CRAM COMPETITION | 11 | 28:19.711 | +23.797 | 177.8 |
11 | 19 | Craig REIFF | INTERWETTEN | 11 | 28:20.784 | +24.870 | 178.0 |
12 | 22 | Jordan OAKES | ONE RACING | 11 | 28:22.629 | +26.715 | 179.8 |
13 | 14 | Jakub KNOLL | KRENEK MOTORSPORT | 11 | 28:23.148 | +27.234 | 177.8 |
14 | 29 | Jukka HONKAVUORI | KOIRANEN BROS MOTORSPORT | 11 | 28:25.692 | +29.778 | 179.4 |
15 | 6 | Hugo VALENTE | TECH 1 RACING | 11 | 28:27.909 | +31.995 | 178.1 |
16 | 31 | Brice BOSI | BOETTI RACING TEAM | 11 | 28:30.454 | +34.540 | 177.1 |
17 | 10 | Daniel DE JONG | MP MOTORSPORT | 11 | 29:01.771 | +1:05.857 | 178.8 |
30 | Kalle KULMANEN | MP MOTORSPORT | 5 | 14:26.426 | 169.6 | ||
3 | Giovanni VENTURINI | EPSILON EUSKADI | 0 | ||||
4 | Alex RIBERAS | EPSILON EUSKADI | 0 | ||||
17 | André NEGRAO | CRAM COMPETITION | 0 | ||||
26 | Bart HYLKEMA | KOIRANEN BROS MOTORSPORT | 0 | ||||
27 | Miki WECKSTROM | KOIRANEN BROS MOTORSPORT | 0 |
Official Renault Sport Press Release