Kevin Mirocha ‘rains’ supreme at sodden Brands Hatch 15.07.2012: Pole takes superb maiden win ahead of Tuscher and Bacheta

Pole takes superb maiden win ahead of Tuscher and Bacheta



Kevin Mirocha mastered a sodden Brands Hatch circuit to take a superb maiden Formula Two win during today's (Saturday) thrilling opening race at Brands Hatch Grand Prix circuit.


The 20-year-old Pole got a great start to jump pole-sitter Luciano Bacheta and Max Snegirev off the line to pull away in treacherous conditions in a race which saw two safety car periods. From fourth on the grid, Mathéo Tuscher came home in second to claim his fifth podium with championship leader Bacheta finishing third on home soil.


Heavy rain fell as the race got underway with Bacheta getting a poor start from pole allowing Mirocha to power through into the lead as the entire field struggled for grip. Tuscher had moved into second with Snegirev in third after his best grid start, fending from Bacheta in fourth. The Brit soon got past the Russian though through Dingle Dell and closing in on the leading pair.


With visibility poor, it wasn't long before the safety car was deployed following a spin by David Zhu coming out of Graham Hill Bend, causing the pack to bunch up again and eliminating Mirocha's lead. The restart lasted all of a few moments as Snegirev immediately spun across the start/finish line with the 25-year-old colliding with both Alex Fontana and Kourosh Khani to bring out the safety car again.


Mirocha got away well as the safety car peeled in for the second time on lap 10 with the race now running to its 40-minute time limit. At the restart, Hector Hurst was able to take Mihai Marinescu at the restart into Turn 1 with the Romanian then running very wide at Druids Bend. Drivers continued to struggle for grip as the race continued with Hurst now under pressure from Christopher Zanella with the two battling for several laps before a mistake by Hurst at Sheene dropped him back.


At the front, there was no stopping Mirocha and despite a slight mistake at Druids Bend, he was able to control his lead, building a five-second cushion before taking the chequered flag.


Fourth place went to Marinescu with Markus Pommer driving a patient race from the back of the field - following his engine woes in qualifying - to finish fifth. Zanella came home in seventh ahead of Hurst with Axcil Jefferies picking up his second points finish in as many races. Mauro Calamia also collected his maiden top 10 position with Daniel McKenzie completing the top 10.


Speaking afterwards a delighted Mirocha said: "This was just incredible. In the beginning it was like a never ending race in between I had 10million thoughts going through my head so I just concentrated to push a bit more to really focus on the driving. I felt really strong and of course I had an amazing start. This was the key to be in front. It was really good!"


Tomorrow's second qualifying session gets underway at 10:35 (local time) with full coverage on the official F2 website. For more information, including championship standings, visit www.formulatwo.com.



F2 Results: Brands Hatch - Race 1:

1. Kevin Mirocha, 23 laps
2. Mathéo Tuscher, +5.687s
3. Luciano Bacheta, +7.107s  
4. Mihai Marinescu, +13.811s
5. Markus Pommer, +15.515s  
6. Christopher Zanella, +21.969s 
7. Hector Hurst, +26.369s 
8. Axcil Jefferies, +27.169s  
9. Mauro Calamia, +42.503s 
10. Daniel McKenzie, +47.351s
11. Plamen Kralev, +47.685s
12. Dino Zamparelli, DNF
13. Max Snegirev, DNF
14. Alex Fontana, DNF
15. Kourosh Khani, DNF
16. David Zhu, DNF
    


 Tom Phillips- photo Formula2