Eurocup Clio
Oscar Nogues (RMS Engineering) put a difficult start to the season behind him by taking his first victory of the year at Paul Ricard. The 2012 Eurocup Clio champion finished an intense race ahead of Josh Files (Team Pyro) and Massimiliano Pedalà (Composit Motorsport). The result sees Pedalà retain the championship lead, but his advantage over Files is now down to 13 points.
On Saturday Éric Trémoulet (Vic’Team) claimed his first pole of the season, qualifying ahead of Oscar Nogues and Massimiliano Pedalà. Pedalà, for his part, was relegated from the front row for exceeding the track limits. Josh Files was fourth, while Nicolas Milan (Milan Compétition) started the race from ninth.
At the start, Éric Trémoulet held his lead, while Nicolas Milan moved up to fifth. And it was not long before the leading quartet pulled away from the pack. On lap three, 2013 Eurocup Clio champion Oscar Nogues overtook Éric Trémoulet to move into first place.
Massimilano Pedalà and Josh Files emulated Nogues by passing Trémoulet in the laps that followed, while Simone Di Luca (Rangoni Corse) and Nicolas Milan moved back into contact with the four frontrunners.
Oscar Nogues held firm, however, and took victory for the first time this season. He finished ahead of Josh Files, who had passed Massimiliano Pedalà into second place on lap eight. Pedalà, for his part, took third after an epic battle with Éric Trémoulet and Simone Di Luca, with the latter receiving a 10-second penalty for exceeding the track limits. That meant Nicolas Milan took fifth place, followed by Thomas Fjordbach (Polar Seafood Racing), Simone Di Luca, Ronnie Marchetti (Composit Motorsport) and Fabian Danz (Jenzer Motorsport). Daniele Perfetti (Seminole Racing Team) completed the top ten.
What they said
Oscar Nogues: "We’re back on top and I’m really pleased for the team. It was a lively race, and as soon as I took the lead, everything became easier. Race two should be more straightforward, as I’m starting on pole. A double victory would do us all good."
Josh Files: "We carried out a lot of tests and ran into a few problems on Friday, but we were back on the pace in qualifying. We knew the pace would be there during the race. I overtook a few times and fought some great battles, so I’m satisfied with second place."
Massimiliano Pedalà: "I made a strategic error. I went with fresh rear tyres, which gave me a lot of oversteer from the halfway stage of the race. Josh has gained a few points, but it’s nothing that can’t be solved."
Eurocup Clio – provisional championship standings: 1. M. Pedalà 121; 2. J. Files 108; 3. N. Milan 96; 4. E. Trémoulet 60; 5. T. Fjordbach 56 [...]
Official Renault Sport Press Release.