Without resistance, Max Defourny (R-ace GP) won his second Formula Renault 2.0 Northern European Cup race in a row. In the first Silverstone race, the Belgian stayed ahead from start to finish. Local driver Lando Norris (Josef Kaufmann Racing) should have been opposed to Defourny on the first starting row. But the Briton came to the pits after the formation lap, suffering a gearbox problem. Dorian Boccolacci (Tech 1 Racing) claimed second place after having passed Will Palmer (R-ace GP) on the last lap. Russian Robert Shwartzman (Josef Kaufmann Racing) won the Rookie class.
Without his opponent next to him on the grid, Defourny assumed control through Copse corner and pulled gap early. Will Palmer had left from third on the grid and automatically took second. Dorian Boccolacci passed Austrian returnee Ferdinand Habsburg (Fortec Motorsports) right at the start.
Behind these four, second returnee Callan O’Keeffe (JD Motorsport) fought against Jehan Daruvala (Josef Kaufmann Racing). The Force India junior lost ground at the start and then tried to find his way through the field. Attacking O’Keeffe in Luffield corner, both made contact. Daruvala continued, whereas O’Keeffe parked his car with a damaged suspension at the pits.
TYRE DEGRADATION LEADS TO LATE PODIUM FIGHT
Numerous drivers reported issues with tyre degradation. With his comfortable margin, Max Defourny could save his rubber. Will Palmer in contrast lost his pace on the last three laps, giving Dorian Boccolacci the opportunity to pass him on the inside of Copse corner on the final lap.
Ferdinand Habsburg came home in fourth place and Jehan Daruvala still managed fifth spot. In sixth, Australian James Allen (JD Motorsport) scored by far his best result. Alex Gill (Mark Burdett Motorsport), Julien Falchero (R-ace GP), Hugo de Sadeleer (Tech 1 Racing), and Vasily Romanov (Fortec Motorsports) rounded up the top ten. With 11th position overall, Russian Robert Shwartzman (Josef Kaufmann Racing) collected his first trophy as the best Rookie driver.
NORRIS GETS ANOTHER CHANCE
With a loss to repair, Lando Norris will start the second race on Sunday from pole position. Palmer, Boccolacci, and Defourny will follow. At 10.15 hrs. local time, the second race can be seen on www.formularenault.tv with English commentary and with German commentary on www.renault-sport.de. Live Timing is available here: http://static.sportresult.com/federations/fia/liveresults/sro/index.html?series=2d210e15-66fd-4415-b133-c612a958310b
DRIVER’S QUOTES
Max Defourny (R-ace GP): « It was a nice race. We managed to get a gap at the start with Norris not being there. We then pushed on the first three laps to be able to manage the tyres later on as we had some problems with degradation. All in all good points for the championship. »
Dorian Boccolacci (Tech 1 Racing): « I knew the track is aggressive to the tyres. I had good speed during the race, but I started pushing in the end on probably better tyres than the others had. It was a good move on the last lap. I’m happy for the team to be on the podium again. »
Will Palmer (R-ace GP): « It’s a bit disappointing that I couldn’t hold on to second place. It had been quite comfortable for most of the race, but then I had massive tyre graining. But at least I could hold on to the podium. »
Results Press release Formula Renault 2.0 NEC]]>
