Two nil to Nicolas Milan 01.05.2011: Eurocup CLIO Spa-Francorchamps – Race 2 Once again it was team play that made the difference in Eurocup Clio. Nicolas Milan and Marc Guillot adopted the same strategy

Eurocup CLIO  Spa-Francorchamps – Race 2

Once again it was team play that made the difference in Eurocup Clio. Nicolas Milan and Marc Guillot adopted the same strategy as on the previous day, sticking together to give their campaign an edge over the rest of the pack. It was a winning strategy and the two men delivered their second consecutive one-two. Behind them, the battle for third was much more uncertain. It was Simone di Luca (Rangoni Motorsport) who came out on top in the end to take the third spot on the podium.


The colours of Milan Competition were all over the front of the grid, with pole-sitter Nicolas Milan just in front of teammates Marc Guillot and Thibault Bossy. The French drivers all got off to the dream start followed up with a faultless first lap. Nicolas Milan led the field with Marc Guillot and Thibault Bossy still just behind him.


The first lap saw bags of action with stationary Clio’s strewn around the track. The safety car got into action so work could proceed on clearing the track of the damaged cars belonging to Jordi Palomeras (Pujolaracing), Cristian Ricciarini (Composite Motorsport), Stephan Poldermann (Madeno Racing), Ruud Steenmetz (Team Bleekemolen), Raquel Morera (Autotec Racing Team) and Jose Miguel de los Milagros ( Dale Gas).


Behind the safety car, Nicolas Milan led the procession ahead of Marc Guillot, Thibault Bossy, Simone di Luca, Robert Van den Berg (Harders Plaza Racing), Mike Verschuur (Equipe Verschuur) and Sebastian Bleekemolen (Team Bleekemolen). After three laps with the race neutralized, stewards ordered the restart. Nicolas Milan and Marc Guillot took off immediately, whereas Simone di Luca got past Thibault Bossy to settle in third place.


Milan and Guillot adopted the same strategy as on the previous day. The two teammates drove together in formation and that gave them the edge to get clear of their rivals. Behind them, Simone di Luca, Thibault Bossy, Robert Van den Berg, Mike Verschuur and Sebastian Bleekemolen engaged battle for third place.


Robert Van den Berg overtook Thibault Bossy, to move up to 4th, before tackling Simone di Luca. Giancarlo Lenzotti (Composite Motorsport) joined the chasing group, and within the space of a few laps, disposed of Sebastian Bleekemolen, Mike Verschuur and Thibault Bossy, one after the other. The winner of the 2010 Italian Clio Cup thus shifted up from 9th to 5th place.


For Nicolas Milan and Marc Guillot, it was a repeat of their performance of the day before. The Milan Compétition boss, twice winner of the France Clio Cup, prevailed once again ahead of his loyal lieutenant, Marc Guillot. Third place on the podium went to Italian driver Simone di Luca, while Robert Van den Berg capitulated in the final lap, gifting his fourth place to Giancarlo Lenzotti. With two wins, Nicolas Milan leaves Belgium leading the Eurocup Clio. Next round at the Nürburgring.


Quote-Unquote:


Nicolas Milan: "What matters most to me is to deliver good results for my team. Two one-two’s to get the ball rolling certainly couldn’t be better. It wasn’t an easy race, because Marc Guillot forced me to push as hard as I could. Now I'll be the man everyone wants to beat. I’ll have to watch out!"


Marc Guillot: "We decided before the race to adopt the same strategy as yesterday and it worked a treat. Nicolas was faster than me though, so I only stayed in touch thanks to the slipstreaming."


Simone di Luca: "For sure, the ideal thing here is to be able to drive with your teammate. Well done to Nicolas Milan’s team. In my case, I had to fight hard all the way. Third is a good result. The Eurocup Clio grid is very competitive indeed."



- Blanca de Foronda -  photo Renault