14 September 2015
A weekend in the Green Hell
One week after the Silverstone meeting, the World Series by Renault made its way to the Nürburgring. On a circuit chalk-full of history, the three categories organized by Renault Sport Technologies put on a world-class show – as much on the dry as in the wet – for the German public. Between the Infiniti Red Bull Racing F1 featuring Pierre Gasly, and the multitude of activities on offer, Oliver Rowland and Tio Ellinas took the spoils in the Formula Renault 3.5 Series, as did Jack Aitken and Ben Barnicoat in the Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0, and Roy Geerts, Max Braams, Dario Capitanio and Andrea Pizzitola in the Renault Sport Trophy.
Reinhart Zirpel, Communication Manager Renault Germany: “Once again, the World Series by Renault organized an exceptional weekend at the Nürburgring. 50,000 people got the chance to watch the future motor racing stars battle on a demanding and legendary circuit. The large number of spectators also confirmed the attractiveness of this event, which allows fans to plunge into the Renault universe and have a great family time. These meetings always contribute greatly to our sales and we thank the dealers and collaborators who have participated in this success. As usual the activities in the Renault Village attracted large crowds in displaying Renault’s different sectors of activities: production with notably the Kadjar, design with DéZir, competition with the Red Bull Renault and Formula E….Everything was on hand to make this weekend a veritable celebration in spite of the pour weather!”
Formula Renault 3.5 Series: Rowland and Ellinas win again
After setting the pace in the collective tests, Oliver Rowland (Fortec Motorsports) put in a perfect Saturday in dominating qualifying and the race ahead of Nyck de Vries (DAMS) and Jazeman Jaafar (Fortec Motorsports). The win makes the Englishman the new record holder for number of victories in the category. Back on pole on Sunday, Oliver Rowland spun at the first corner. At the conclusion of a race animated by the rain, Tio Ellinas and Gustav Malja made it a resounding one-two result for Strakka Racing. Nyck de Vries made it two trips to the podium in Germany. With a 50-point lead, Oliver Rowland could clinch the title at Le Mans.
Race 1: 1- O. Rowland, GBR (Fortec Motorsports), 2- N. de Vries, NED (DAMS), 3- J. Jaafar, MAS (Fortec Motorsports)…
Race 2: 1- T. Ellinas, CYP (Strakka Racing), 2- G. Malja, SWE (Strakka Racing), 3- N. de Vries, NED (DAMS)…
General classification: 1- O. Rowland 235 pts, 2- M. Vaxiviere 185 pts, 3- N. de Vries 116 pts…
Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0: Delétraz still in the lead
Ukyo Sasahara (ART Junior Team) set the pace on Friday. Louis Delétraz (Josef Kaufmann Racing) laid down the gauntlet in setting the new category track record in qualifying. The Swiss driver lost the lead at the start, allowing Jack Aitken (Koiranen GP) to go on for the win ahead of Ukyo Sasahara and Matevos Isaakyan (JD Motorsport). On Sunday, Ben Barnicoat (Fortec Motorsports) took his maiden pole position, which he converted into victory in the rain. Martin Kodrić made it a one-two result for Fortec Motorsports, while Anthoine Hubert (Tech 1 Racing) finished third. With the win, the British driver is now included in the group of six who could arrive at Jerez at the sharp end of the general classification.
Race 1: 1- J. Aitken, GBR (Koiranen GP), 2- U. Sasahara, JPN (ART Junior Team), 3- M. Isaakyan, RUS (JD Motorsport)…
Race 2: 1- B. Barnicoat, GBR (Fortec Motorsports), 2- M. Kodrić, CRO (Fortec Motorsports), 3- A. Hubert, FRA (Tech 1 Racing)…
General classification: 1- L. Delétraz 144 pts, 2- K. Jörg 139 pts, 3- J. Aitken 136 pts…
Renault Sport Trophy: Capitanio takes control, Pizzitola close in on Schothorst
After his disappointing weekend at Silverstone, Steijn Schothorst (Equipe Verschuur) led the way in the collective tests, although it was another Dutchman, Roy Geerts (V8 Racing), who won the pole. With his team mate Max Braams, the 2013 Formula Renault 1.6 NEC Junior came out on top at the end of a hard fought duel with David Fumanelli and Dario Capitanio (Oregon Team #8), who still lead in the Endurance classification. On Sunday, Dario Capitanio took some revenge with his debut win in Sprint Prestige, which sees him become the new leader of the category. In Elite, Andrea Pizzitola (ART Junior Team) mastered the elements to take his maiden triumph ahead of Steijn Schothorst, who now has a slim 10 point lead in the general classification.
Endurance Race: 1- Geerts-Braams, NED (V8 Racing), 2- Fumanelli-Capitanio, ITA (Oregon Team), 3- Pizzitola-Gonda, FRA-SVQ (ART Junior Team)…
Prestige Sprint Race: 1- D. Capitanio, ITA (Oregon Team), 2- N. Nalio, ITA (Oregon Team), 3- M. Braams, NED (V8 Racing)…
Elite Sprint Race: 1- A. Pizzitola, FRA (ART Junior Team), 2- S. Schothorst, NED (Equipe Verschuur), 3- I. Dontje, NED (ART Junior Team)…
General classification Elite: 1- S. Schothorst 105 pts, 2- A. Pizzitola 95 pts, 3- D. Fumanelli 60 pts…
General classification Prestige: 1. D. Capitanio 94 pts, 2. N. Nalio 86 pts, 3. D. Sijthoff 80 pts…
General classification Endurance: 1- Fumanelli/Capitanio 79 pts, 2- Bacheta/Nalio 55 pts, 3- Pizzitola/Gonda 45 pts…
The World Series by Renault now takes a well-deserved one-week break before heading to the Le Mans Bugatti circuit for the penultimate meeting of the season on 26 and 27 September.
