1 June 2014
Carlos Sainz strikes again at Spa
A lights-to-flag winner yesterday, points leader Carlos Sainz (DAMS) is well placed to repeat the feat on Sunday, after securing his fifth pole of the Formula Renault 3.5 Series season at Spa-Francorchamps. Oliver Rowland (Fortec Motorsports) will join him on the front row, while Caterham Racing Academy member Will Stevens (Strakka Racing) will share the second row with Richie Stanaway (Lotus).
The skies were blue as the Formula Renault 3.5 field emerged for the 30-minute qualifying session. The Fortec drivers were the first to show, and when their rivals responded Oliver Rowland raised the bar, only for Carlos Sainz to go fastest as the first part of the session came to an end.
Equipped with fresh tyres, the drivers headed out on to the track with ten minutes remaining, with Zoel Amberg (AVF) first to beat the two-minute mark. The times kept tumbling, and with two minutes to go before the chequered flag Carlos Sainz took command with a lap of 1:58.319. The Red Bull Junior Team driver’s time remained unbeaten, with the Spaniard closing the session ahead of Oliver Rowland, Will Stevens, Richie Stanaway and Jazeman Jaafar (ISR).
Sunday’s Formula Renault 3.5 Series race at Spa-Francorchamps gets under way at 15:05.
Carlos Sainz: “It was a great qualifying session. I felt more comfortable than yesterday, right from the first lap. We made a step forward to find some extra pace. I’m very pleased with the work we’ve done with the team. Now it’s a new story with the race, and with the pit stop, anything can happen. We need to get the strategy and everything right to win again.”
