Formula Renault 2.0
Daniil Kvyat (Koiranen Motorsport) never looked back after passing Oscar Tunjo (Tech 1 Racing) on turn two, going on to notch his second victory of the weekend at Motorland Aragon. Stamping his authority on the Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 championship with a pole and race double in Spain, the Red Bull Junior Team men is firmly in command in the overall standings.
The day began with iRace Professional driver Tunjo scoring his first pole in Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0, the Colombian heading the grid from Kvyat.
The front two both made a fine start, with Tunjo leading in turn one only for the Russian to outpace him up the climb and take the lead. Behind them De Vries, Norman Nato (RC Formula), Stoffel Vandoorne (Josef Kaufmann Racing) and Pierre Gasly (R-Ace GP) all found a way past Nick Cassidy (Fortec Motorsports), though the New Zealander climbed back up a place when the Frenchman ran wide, with Esteban Ocon (Koiranen Motorsport), Oliver Rowland (Fortec Motorsports) and Alex Riberas (Josef Kaufmann Racing) also slipping past.
As the escaping Kvyat and Tunjo battled it out for the lead, De Vries, Nato, Vandoorne, Cassidy, Ocon and Rowland were locked in a scrap for third, De Vries putting a spurt on to move clear of a tightly formed pack.
A string of fastest laps just after the midway point gave Kvyat some breathing space ahead of his Colombian pursuer, who by then had De Vries closing in on him. Behind them, meanwhile, Ocon got past Cassidy to move up to sixth.
The positions remained unchanged all the way to the line as Kvyat set the seal on a flawless weekend, taking the chequered flag ahead of Tunjo and De Vries. After the finish, however, the Dutchman was handed a 25-second penalty for spinning on the formation lap and then reclaiming his position on the start grid, in contravention of the regulations.
In claiming a maximum 50 points over the two days, Kvyat leaves Motorland Aragon some 23 points clear of Stoffel Vandoorne.
What they said
Daniil Kvyat: “I got past Oscar pretty quickly but it took me a few laps to get into a rhythm. To come to a track where we haven’t done well in the past and win two races is just perfect. Next up is Spa-Francorchamps though, which is a track I love and which Koiranen Motorsport knows like the back of its hand.”
Oscar Tunjo: “It’s been a long winter and we did a lot of driving and spent a lot of time chatting to the engineers. We knew we had a competitive set-up. It was just a question of going out and proving it, which we’ve done today with a pole and a second place.”
Official Renault Sport Press Release.