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NEWS Formula Renault 2.0 NEC - 2012

     

22.04.2012 Formula Renault 2.0 NEC - Races 1, 2 + 3  - Hockenheim

     

Stoffel Vandoorne with Double-Pole and two Race wins during Formula Renault 2.0 NEC 2012 season opener at Hockenheim. Alex Riberas two times on P 4. Pieter Schothorst very unlucky

     

Free Practice: In the first free practice which was very tricky because of a lot of traffic with 39 cars and many yellow flag sequences, it was Stoffel Vandoorne on P 3, Alex Riberas on P 5 and Pieter Schothorst on P 8. In the second free practice the Kaufmann Drivers decided to keep a new set of tyres and stayed on the used ones. Vandoorne was P 6, Riberas P 14 and Schothorst P 17.

Qualifying: In the first Qualifying on an updrying track it was Vandoorne who took his first Pole-Position of the year. Pieter Schothorst qualified on P 5 and Alex Riberas on P 6. Due to a penalty Ribers was placed back to P 28. In the second Qualifying it was again Vandoorne to set the fastest lap 5/10 quicker than anybody else. Schothorst qulified on P 5 infront of Riberas on P 6.

Race 1: Alex Riberas jumped the start on P 28 and had to take a drive-through penalty. Anyway the young spaniard fought his way back to P 14 in the end. Pieter Schothorst had a good opening sequence of the race and moved upto P 3. Then in the hairpin a driver from behind missed his braking point and crashed into Schothorst. Schothorst had to retire immidiately as the rear suspension was broken. Stoffel Vandoorne missed a bit the start and dropped back to P 2. In the second lap he took over the lead again. After a Safety Car period Vandoorne again opened up a gap and won his first Formula Renault 2.0 Race in a dominant way.

Race 2: Starting from Pole again, Vandoorne lost one position at the start. In the second lap the young belgian made a small driving mistake and spun of the track in turn one. After he rejoined the race he fought his way back to P 19 in the end, with driving the fastest race laps. Pieter Schothorst had again a good start und moved upto P 4. A technical problem on his car forced him to retire from the race. Alex Riberas drove a clean race and made up position and finished on P 4 as several overtaking moves for the podium didn´t work out.

Race 3: Due to reverse grid starting oder, Vandoorne started from P 6, Riberas from P 14. The race was started under dry conditions. Vandoorne had a good start, Riberas as well. Both moved up positions. After 3 laps it started to rain heavy and the race was stopped. Vandoorne was on P 3 and Riberas on P 5. After all cars had change to wet-tyres, the race was re-started. Vandoorne was able to take over the lead in the first lap after re-start. From that point on, he pulled away from the rest of the field. After 5 laps he won with more than 7 seconds advance. A perfect drive from the young Belgian to take his second vicotry of the weekend. Alex Riberas finished on a strong P 4 in the end.

     
     
Pictures from Hockenheim