Nick Yelloly (Comtec Racing) became the first driver this season to win two races in the Formula Renault 3.5 Series after executing the perfect strategy and switching to wet tyres at just the right time.
Marco Sorensen (Lotus) and André Negrao (International Draco Racing) joined him on the podium. By finishing fourth, Sam Bird (ISR) leapfrogged Robin Frijns (Fortect Motorsports) into the championship lead. But with Bird already contracted to Mercedes AMG F1 Team, Frijns took the prize of a drive in one of the Red Bull Racing F1 demonstrations scheduled during the next meeting at Moscow Raceway.
There was certainly no sleep in Robin Frijns’s eyes on Sunday morning as he claimed the first pole position of his Formula Renault 3.5 Series career, clocking a circuit record with a lap of 1:39.991. The 2011 Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 champion lined up on the front row alongside Marco Sorensen, with French drivers Jules Bianchi (Tech 1 Racing) and Arthur Pic (Dams) sitting behind them on the second row.
Rain showers had made the track damp in the morning, but the surface was dry in parts as the 26 drivers lined up on the starting grid. Frijns made a less than perfect getaway, but Sorensen was more concerned with protecting his second place from the dual menace of Bianchi and Sam Bird. At this point the rain began to fall, and the combination of a wet track and slick tyres meant that slides and spins were inevitable, as well as a shake-up of the race order. The safety car then came out in front of Frijns, Bianchi, Bird and Sorensen. Cesar Ramos (Lotus), Carlos Huertas (Fortec Motorsports) and Yann Cunha (Pons Racing) were the first drivers to fall foul of the conditions and retire.
At the restart, with the track completely soaked, Frijns managed to retain the race lead. Bianchi was the first driver to head to the pits for the obligatory tyre-change and rejoined the race on slicks. The Frenchman was then caught out, however, and took a detour into the gravel trap. Meanwhile, at the front of the pack, Bird passed Frijns and moved into the lead.
Sorenson, for his part, employed a different strategy to his opponents and waited as long as possible before making his compulsory trip to the pits. Out in front, he strung together some of the best laps of the race and left the pits with a five-second lead over Frijns and Bird, before the rain returned. Sorensen and Frijns opted to pit again to switch to treaded tyres, and the majority of the other drivers soon followed suit.
At this point, the weather played right into Yelloly’s hands. Unlike his opponents, the British driver made just one stop during the race, and by switching to wet tyres at the right moment, he was able to seize the race lead and hold it all the way to the finish. Far behind him, the two remaining podium places were being contested by Negrao and Sorensen, with Danish driver Sorensen eventually finding the opening on the third-from-last lap. Yelloly took victory ahead of Sorensen and Negrao, with Bird finishing fourth to move above Frijns to the top of the championship standings.
What they said:
Nick Yelloly: “I didn’t have the best start to the race. I was hovering around eighth place and it was really hard to stay on the track in the rain. Slick tyres were needed after that, but I could see the clouds were approaching. So I decided to stay out on track as long as possible, and I made the right choice. The rain became really heavy, and that was the point when we needed to change tyres. I only made one stop, and that allowed me to win. Winning the title is still my main objective, and this second victory for the season puts me back on course.”
Marco Sorensen: “It was a difficult race, to say the least. This morning we were quick in qualifying, and to achieve that we made huge changes to the car’s handling overnight. The start of the race was crazy. I overtook, other cars overtook me – it was just crazy. I’m happy to have finished second, and my car worked in all conditions.”
source: worldseriesbyrenault.fr
DAMS: accentuate the positive!
The French team’s weekend at the Nürburgring was mirrored by the weather – variable! Nonetheless, DAMS is leaving the German circuit with a positive feeling due to some good performances by Arthur Pic in qualifying and Lucas Foresti’s first point.
After challenging free practice sessions DAMS tacked Saturday’s qualifying in a circumspect frame of mind. However, Arthur Pic’s third place reassured the whole team. The DAMS driver was brimming with confidence before the race but lost a place and several seconds at the start. Despite making a superb comeback in the closing stages, Pic saw the flag in fourth place glued to the gearbox of the two drivers in front of him on the podium.
After another good qualifying performance (4th) Pic tackled the second heat with the intention of scoring a podium finish. Unfortunately, the very tricky race conditions – dry, wet, dry again and the safety car caught out the DAMS team leader who retired. But Lucas Foresti made a fighting comeback from last on the grid to eleventh place that became tenth after one of his rivals was hit with a penalty.
Jean-Paul Driot, CEO: “Once again the team did a great job in both preparing and running the cars. Our FR3.5 is quick as Arthur proved in qualifying, in particular. We just have to put it all together for the weekend and we’ll win! Bravo to Lucas who scored his first point in difficult conditions.”
Arthur Pic: “All in all I just want to see the positive aspect even if I’m not happy with my start in the first race. As for Sunday, forget it! What’s clear is that we have the speed. I know I can fight at the front. With such a great team I know we’ll end up winning.”
Lucas Foresti: “Finally, I’ve scored a point. I’m very happy for myself and above all for the team, which has made a big effort to support me and prepare the car for each event. I hope that this race is the starting point of my season and that I’ll continue to score points on a regular basis.”
Next race: Moscow, 14-15 July.
Formula Renault 3.5, Round 4: Nurbürgring
Mixed Formula Renault 3.5 weekend for Pic at the Nurbürgring
Formula Renault 3.5 Series driver Arthur Pic experienced mixed fortunes at the Nurbürgring as two impressive qualifying performances and a strong run to fourth in Saturday’s opening race were tempered by a DNF in Sunday’s second event.
Despite perhaps feeling some frustration at not realising his ultimate potential, the young Frenchman can take a number of positives from the German event with Saturday’s result vaulting him into the top-10 of the fiercely competitive championship. Pic also strengthened his growing reputation as a qualifying specialist, adding a pair of second row starts to the brace of pole positions he scored in the season-opening trip to Spain.
This pace saw the Montélimar native enjoy a successful Saturday qualifying session when he pumped in a blistering late lap of 1m41.431s to leap from the fringes of the top-10 to third spot with just moments left on the clock.
Come the afternoon’s race, Pic slipped to P4 at the start but remained in close contact with the podium spots throughout while building a commanding gap over the pursuing Kevin Magnussen. Despite a concerted effort to overhaul third-placed Robin Frijns he would come home fourth, just a second shy of the final rostrum spot.
The DAMS pilot continued this form by producing another strong showing in Sunday morning’s second qualifying session, topping the timesheets with just two minutes remaining before an ill-timed red flag and a flurry of late laps saw him shuffled down the order.
But Pic was the last man over the line to begin his final timed run and went on to set the fastest opening two sectors, seemingly heading for a third pole position of the campaign. Frustratingly traffic during the final kilometre scuppered his hopes of claiming P1, though he still managed a highly competitive 1m40.417s to book a spot on the second row.
After starting fourth Pic remained on slick tyres in the rain-hit early stages of Sunday’s race, dropping him behind those who’d switched to wets. When conditions improved he immediately began to cut through the pack as he produced lap times on a par with the leaders. The Frenchman had made his way into the top-10 when he took his mandatory stop and fitted another set of dry tyres.
He climbed the order once more before the rain returned just as Pic started a new lap. With tyres unsuited to the conditions, the DAMS driver suffered an off-track excursion that brought what had looked set to be another points-paying finish to a premature conclusion.
Arthur Pic: “After a difficult Friday the car’s true pace shone through on Saturday when I took third in qualifying. I lost one position after a poor start to the race to run fourth and, as overtaking is almost impossible at this circuit, I remained there until the finish. However I set the second best time during the race which shows how good was our pace was.
“In Sunday’s qualifying I was one of several cars who had just put fresh tyres on when the red flag fell, which was unfortunate as rather than three laps I only got two. With one more I’m pretty sure the front row was achievable, but I was happy with fourth on the grid. Two second row starts from two sessions confirms we have great potential in the dry.
“With rain falling on the first lap of the race the safety car was deployed, prompting some drivers to come in for wets. I stayed on slicks and, at the restart, those with treaded rubber had a huge advantage. However as soon as it started drying I was able to gain positions before taking my mandatory stop and coming back out in 14th. I started climbing the order again and was up to eighth when the rain returned. This came at the worst possible time for me as I was just starting a new lap! As such I had to do a full tour before changing tyres and unfortunately couldn’t make it back to the pits.
“Obviously it is a shame, but there are plenty of positives to take from this weekend, particularly the points we scored and our pace in the dry. In two weeks we will be racing on a brand new circuit in Russia and I’m really looking forward to that.”
Pic leaves Germany eighth in the ultra competitive Formula Renault 3.5 Series and looking forward to the next event at Russia’s Moscow Raceway (July 14/15) for what will be the championship’s maiden visit to the country. Here he will be hoping to continue his fine qualifying form as well as adding further points to his 2012 tally.
source: www.ArthurPic.com, pole.uk.com