Formula Renault 2.0- Hungaroring – Race 2
With two pole positions and two wins, Daniel Ricciardo (SG Formula) has had a perfect weekend at the Hungaroring. As on the previous day, the Australian finished ahead of teammate Andrea Caldarelli, a regular in second place. Tobias Hegewald (Motopark Academy) made news by finishing on the podium for the first time this season.
Daniel Ricciardo once again started from pole position, ahead of teammates Andrea Caldarelli and Jean-Éric Vergne.
The three men stayed in formation at the start, while Tobias Hegewald held onto fourth place ahead of Roberto Merhi (Epsilon Euskadi). As a result of a number of incidents which occurred on various sections of the circuit, the safety car put in an appearance at the end of the first lap. Pablo Montilla (Epsilon Euskadi), Victor Garcia (Prema Powerteam), Bastien Borget (Epsilon Sport), Luciano Bacheta (Hitech Junior Team), Dean Smith (Fortec Motorsport), Anton Nebilitsky (SG Driver Project) and Richard Campollo (Epsilon Euskadi) all retired, while Miki Monras (Hitech Junior Team) paid a visit to the pits.
After the restart, the race order remained the same. Ricciardo set the pace and pulled away. Behind, Vergne was threatening Caldarelli and found his chance at the end of the start-finish straight. Caldarelli got his own back a few corners later to take back his second position. Tobias Hegewald, Roberto Merhi and Albert Costa took advantage and closed the gap on the two SG Formula cars. The five drivers began the fight for second place.
On the seventh lap, Hegewald surprised Vergne at the end of the start-finish straight to claim third place. Albert Costa, who started tenth, took his revenge for the previous day's race, passing teammate Roberto Merhi to snatch fifth place. Further back in the main field, Sergio Campana (Prema Powerteam) and Christopher Zanella (Race Performance) collided.
Starting from twenty-fifth place on the grid, Valtteri Bottas made up places on every lap. He finished thirteenth and leaves Hungary without points. His chances for the title may be slipping away, as his main rivals scored big!
Leader from start to finish, Daniel Ricciardo claimed his fourth victory of the season ahead of teammate Andrea Caldarelli, who for the fourth time, finished in second place! Daniel Ricciardo's clean-sweep this weekend further confirms his lead in the Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 championship.
Daniel Ricciardo: «We've really worked hard at SG Formula. We found the right set-up straight away and my car just got better and better as the weekend went on. Just like yesterday, I was focused on the start. Maybe a little too much, as Andrea was really a challenge. But everything worked out well. It's a good result coming before the summer break.»
Andrea Caldarelli: »The race wasn't easy, most of all after the safety-car because I couldn't keep my tyres up to temperature. As a result, Jean-Eric attacked me, but then I took back my place. We are scoring more points now, I'm hoping to continue the trend in the second half of the season.»
Tobias Hegewald: «After our home race at Nürburgring, we couldn't have hoped for better. I started fourth and I was on the pace with the leaders. I put pressure on Vergne, he made a small mistake, and I made the best of it. I was right behind Andrea, but it wasn't possible to overtake him. The SG Formula drivers are really quick, but next time we're racing at home!»
- Blanca de Foronda -
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