Nicolas Milan wins a last-lap Clio Cup Europe thriller at Misano 07.06.2021: From seventh on the grid, Nicolas Milan (Milan Compétition) was the most skilled on the soaked and tricky Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli track to snatch victory from David Pouget (GPA Racing) and Challenger Challenger Kévin Jimenez (GPA Racing) on

From seventh on the grid, Nicolas Milan (Milan Compétition) was the most skilled on the soaked and tricky Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli track to snatch victory from David Pouget (GPA Racing) and Challenger Challenger Kévin Jimenez (GPA Racing) on the final lap. After a third of the season, David Pouget leads the Clio Cup Europe with a five-point lead from today’s winner.



While GPA Racing continued its domination on the Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli in qualifying, Kévin Jimenez brought an end to the streak of his teammate David Pouget. They were followed by Lorenzo Nicoli (Progetto E20 Motorsport), Marc Guillot (Milan Compétition) and Giuseppe Cirò (Progetto E20 Motorsport).



Heavy rain fell over the circuit shortly before the race. After three laps behind the safety car to allow the competitors to get their bearings in these unprecedented conditions, Kévin Jimenez held on to the lead ahead of David Pouget, but the order changed among their pursuers. Marc Guillot and Lorenzo Nicoli were fighting for third place but got caught out by the wet conditions. Anthony Jurado (Milan Compétition) took advantage of this situation but was later surprised by Nicolas Milan.



On an increasingly dry racing line, the leading trio quickly broke away from a group in which Gabriele Torelli (Faro Racing) and Marc Guillot made contact before the Frenchman retired. Meanwhile, Lorenzo Nicoli was involved in several incidents and received a drive-through penalty, followed by a black flag for his part in the various run-ins.



Dealing with a slow puncture, Kévin Jimenez resisted to pressure from David Pouget before they made contact with Nicolas Milan having a front-row seat to the incident on the penultimate lap. Nicolas Milan seized this opportunity to slot in between his rivals before taking the lead a few corners before the chequered flag.



Nicolas Milan won for the fifth time his season ahead of David Pouget, with Kévin Jimenez having to settle for third place and his seventh victory in the Challengers Cup. Anthony Jurado, Gabriele Torelli and Giuseppe Cirò were involved in a battle that grew in intensity as the race went on, and they crossed the finish line in that order.



Alessandro Sebasti Scalera (Milan Competition) was the winner in the Gentlemen Drivers Cup and finished seventh, followed by Paolo Maria Silvestrini (Progetto E20 Motorsport) and Fabrizio Ongaretto (PMA Motorsport). Federico Scionti (Scuderia Costa Ovest) came from 22nd on the grid to complete the top ten.



David Pouget still leads in the general classification of the Clio Cup Europe with a five-point advantage over Nicolas Milan. Kévin Jimenez moves up to third place and extends his lead in the Challengers Cup. Fifth among the Gentlemen today, "Horn" now leads Laurent Dziadus by six points while Alessandro Sebasti Scalera is up to third.




Group A



When the safety car pulled off the circuit, Lorenzo Nicoli dropped several positions and Anthony Jurado took advantage to move into the lead. The Frenchman battled just until the finish to take the win ahead of Gabriele Torelli and Giuseppe Cirò, who took top honours among the Challengers, ahead of Fabrizio Ongaretto and Filippo Berto (Oregon Team) at the end of an action-packed race throughout the field. As in the Clio Cup Europe, Alessio Sebasti Scalera won the Gentlemen category ahead of Quinto Stefana (Oregon Team) and Diego Cassarà (Faro Racing)



Anthony Jurado now has a six-point lead over Gabriele Torelli in the general classification, while Marc Guillot is now 39 points behind after coming up empty-handed today. In the Challengers category, Filippo Berto extends his lead from a group that includes Giuseppe Cirò, Lorenzo Nicoli and Fabrizio Ongaretto while Gentleman Alessio Sebasti Scalera leaves Misano with an increased advantage over Quinto Stefana.




The next round of the Clio Cup Europe will see the competitors battle during the Emirates French Formula 1 Grand Prix weekend at Circuit Paul Ricard from 18 to 20 June.





Renault Sport Racing- also photos