1 June 2014
Nyck de Vries back on pole
After heading the grid on Saturday, Dutchman Nyck de Vries (Koiranen GP) scored his third Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 pole of the year on Sunday. Joined by Aurélien Panis (ART Junior Team) on the front row, the McLaren Young Driver Development Programme member now has his sights set on victory after taking second in yesterday’s race behind Dennis Olsen (Prema Powerteam), who will share the second row with Bruno Bonifacio (Prema Powerteam).
The sun was shining brightly as the racers in Group B got qualifying under way. Several names appeared at the top of the timesheets early on, though Alexander Albon (KTR) was the first to duck into the 2:18s, with Kevin Jörg (Josef Kaufmann Racing) and Bruno Bonifacio then going faster. Aurélien Panis bettered the Brazilian’s time with a lap of 2:17.537 before the chequered flag, while Callan O’Keeffe (ART Junior Team) was third fastest.
Levin Amweg (ART Junior Team) held sway early on in Group A and stayed fastest until Nyck de Vries trumped him on his first lap. The Swiss hit back straightaway, though Nyck de Vries would have the final say in the closing stages, breaking the track record again with a time of 2:16.875 to take pole from Dennis Olsen and Egor Orudzhev (Tech 1 Racing).
The second Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 race of the weekend starts at 12:25.
Nyck de Vries: “Obviously I’m delighted to be on pole again, even if my lap wasn’t as good as the one I did yesterday. I’ll be looking to make a good start, just like I did yesterday, but with the aim of still being ahead at the end of the first lap. Unfortunately, though, that’s not in my hands.”
