13 September 2014
Andrea Pizzitola wins at the Hungaroring
On the return of the Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 championship, Andrea Pizzitola (Manor MP Motorsport) scored his second victory of the season. After taking the pole during an intense qualifying session, the French driver controlled the race to take the win ahead of wild-card entry Charles Leclerc (Fortec Motorsports) and championship leader, Nyck de Vries (Koiranen GP). The member of the McLaren Young Driver Development Programme increased his lead to 44 points from Dennis Olsen (Prema Powerteam), who finished ninth on Saturday.
On a slightly damp track, Andrea Pizzitola clocked a lap of 1:45.253 for his second pole position of the season in the Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0. Monaco native Charles Leclerc shared row one. Next, it was Hans Villemi (Prema Powerteam), Nyck de Vries and Gustav Malja (Josef Kaufmann Racing).
When the lights went out, Andrea Pizzitola maintained his advantage. Behind the leader, Charles Leclerc controlled Hans Villemi, who went wide at the first corner. This allowed Nyck de Vries to move up to third place. Gustav Malja followed the leading quarter with the Koiranen GP duo of Ignazio D’Agosto and Nick Cassidy close behind.
After building a small lead, Andrea Pizzitola saw his pursuers fill up his rearview mirrors. There was also plenty of action further down the order with Alexander Albon (KTR) and Bruno Bonifacio (Prema Powerteam) who got the better of Nick Cassidy. Matt Parry (Fortec Motorsports) did the same in making the most of an unsuccessful passing attempt by Dennis Olsen on lap seven. Nevertheless, the Norwegian driver made his way past on the following lap.
Andrea Pizzitola held on to the lead all the way to the chequered flag for his second triumph this season. Charles Leclerc and Nyck de Vries joined him on the podium. Hans Villemi finished ahead of Gustav Malja, Ignazio D’Agosto, Alexander Albon and the Prema Powerteam entries of Bruno Bonifacio and Dennis Olsen. Nick Cassidy completed the top ten, followed by Egor Orudzhev (Tech 1 Racing), who claimed the final point after passing Matt Parry
Quotes
Andrea Pizzitola: ”I am very happy with this win, especially after the summer break that was much too long! We’ve had good pace all season long, but I was lacking consistency, so I am thrilled with this result. In qualifying, the clutch was slipping and I only had two laps to go for the pole. In the race, I flat spotted a tyre and I thought I wasn’t going to make it to the end. I hope we can do as well tomorrow! ”
Charles Leclerc: ”I am happy to finish second. It was a difficult race, because it was the first time I drove on the Hungaroring in dry conditions. It is a good result, but I hope to do even better tomorrow! ”
Nyck de Vries: ”Overall, it is a good result. Qualifying was difficult, due to the tricky conditions. We always aim for the pole, but it could have been worse. It is a shame that we could not start further up the grid, because our pace was excellent today, but I didn’t want to take any risks.”
Provisional General Classification * : 1. N. de Vries – 146 points, 2. D. Olsen – 102, 3. A. Pizzitola – 90, 4. B. Bonifacio – 76, 5. A. Albon – 68, …
*Subject to confirmation of the results following the technical and sporting verifications
