Kevin Korjus back in front
Kevin Korjus back in front
The summer break appears to have been kind to Koiranen Bros Motorsport’s Kevin Korjus. Starting from pole position in the first race, the Estonian made a triumphal return to Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 today despite unrelenting pressure from Tech 1 Racing’s Aaro Vainio. In third place, Tech 1 Racing’s Arthur Pic lost crucial championship points in the face of Korjus’s fifth win of the season.
It is only now at Hockenheim, the sixth meeting of the season, that Kevin Korjus has claimed his first pole position in Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0. At the end of a hotly contested qualifying session, the Estonian led Aaro Vainio, Korainen Bros Motorsport’s Bart Kylkema, and Arthur Pic, to give the starting order for the first race of the weekend.
Korjus also proved he had the fastest reaction times on the start line, taking immediate control of the race ahead of Vainio, and Pic, who got the better of Hylkema in the opening meters of the race. The Swede also lost out to Korjus’ teammate, Miki Weckstrom who now held 4th place in front of Epsilon Euskadi’s Javier Tarancon and Keo Racing’s Ludwig Ghidi, while Hykelma slipped back to 7th place.
Tarancon was also impressive in the opening stages of the race, snatching fourth place from Weckstrom on lap two. In the meantime, Korjus and Vainio were beginning to break away as Tarancon began to take chunks out of Pic’s third-place.
The pattern of the race was quickly taking shape with two separate, simultaneous duels beginning to break away from the pack. In front, Kevin Korjus and Aaro Vainio were busy fighting it out for the lead, while behind them Arthur Pic and Javier Tarancon did battle for third. Further back, Weckstrom, Ghidi and Hylkema, followed by Cram Competition’s André Negrao and Epsilon Euskadi’s Genis Olivé formed a tight chasing pack. It was down to Olivé to change the race order when he overtook Negrao.
At the mid-point in the race, Korjus and Vainio were still separated by the narrowest of margins. Meanwhile, Pic had gained the upper hand over Tarancon, who was kept busy fending off the advances of Weckstrom. The general positions would change little in the closing laps. By claiming his fifth win of the season, Kevin Korjus was able to deprive Arthur Pic, third, of a crucial five championship points, the gap between the two drivers increasing from eleven to sixteen points. Aaro Vainio also found himself on the podium for the third successive race and put in his best result of the season so far with a second place.
Quote, unquote:
Kevin Korjus : “It’s an important win today because things at Budapest really didn’t go too well. It wasn’t a big success and I certainly wasn’t fast. My goal is to win the title and this win has helped me in the right direction. I just need to carry on in the same vane.”
Aaro Vainio : “This is my first season in single-seaters, and I learned a lot in the first few races. Now I understand a lot more and that’s helped me to start getting podium places. Now it’s up to me to find that little something extra that means I can win a race at last.”
Arthur Pic : “I wasn’t great in qualifying this morning. This weekend is about damage limitation and I need to do everything I can to not lose too many points to Kevin. Third place isn’t ideal…but it’ll do for now!”
Official Renault Sport Press Release