28 September 2014
Oscar Nogues wins at Circuit Paul Ricard
Eurocup Clio leader, Oscar Nogues (Rangoni Corse) took his fourth triumph of the season on Sunday. On Circuit Paul Ricard, the Catalan native got the better of his rivals in the general classification to go on for the win ahead of Mikel Azcona (PCRSport) and Eric Trémoulet (Vic’Team). Mikel Azcona was penalized for an incident on the starting grid, which promoted Ivan Pulić (Lema Racing Team) to the final step on the podium. With the victory, Oscar Nogues will head to the season finale at Jerez with a 6-point lead from Eric Trémoulet.
Saturday morning, Mikel Azcona clocked his maiden pole position in the category with a record lap of 2:27.913 at Circuit Paul Ricard. The Spaniard led from Oscar Nogues, Eric Trémoulet, Alex Morgan (Rangoni Corse) and Facundo Della Motta (Pujolaracing).
When the lights went out, Mikel Azcona led the chase group composed of Oscar Nogues, Eric Trémoulet and Alex Morgan. The slipstream effect allowed Oscar Nogues and Mikel Azcona to swap the lead during the opening two laps ahead of Eric Trémoulet, Alex Morgan and Rafael Villanueva. On lap three, Mikel Azcona missed his braking point at the first corner, allowing Eric Trémoulet to make a successful move on Oscar Nogues.
The top five put on a spectacular battle for first place. Alex Morgan was the first to give way when he retired on lap four. Rafael Villaneva lost a lot of ground when he went off the track just after Oscar Nogues took the lead. Two laps later, Eric Trémoulet answered back.
Oscar Nogues retook the lead on lap nine and held on for the win. The Catalan native was followed by Mikel Azcona, but he was penalized for turning his wheels on the starting grid, which dropped him to sixth place. Eric Trémoulet and Ivan Pulić completed the podium. Massimiliano Pedalà (Composit Motorsport) was fourth, ahead of Salvatore Arcarese (Rangoni Corse), who was demoted to 11th place after a penalty. Pablo Martin (SMC Junior Motorsport) inherited fifth place ahead of Mikel Azcona, Aldo Ponti (Rangoni Corse), René Steenmetz (Pujolaracing), Stephan Polderman (Pujolaracing) and tenth place Manuel Leon (SMC Junior Motorsport)
Quotes
Oscar Nogues: “I’m very happy with this result that lets me head to the finale at Circuit de Jerez with a lot of confidence! It was like a motorcycle race, as we were so close to one another. I want to thank my competitors for their good sportsmanship in the battles, while we are all racing for the championship! Yesterday, we couldn’t make it happen but we made up for that today.”
Eric Trémoulet: “I would have preferred to have won, but yet again, I came up short! We improved the car overnight, and it was very good today. Oscar and Mikel were very fast and it was hard to pull out a gap. I took my shot one lap from the end, without success, too bad!”
Ivan Pulić: “Since my win at Motorland last year, this is my first podium of the season. I am happy because we struggled yesterday. The team did a huge job last night, and in these conditions, I am thrilled to take this third place result.”
Provisional General Classification * : 1. O. Nogues – 118 points, 2. E. Trémoulet – 82, 3. M. Pedalà – 80, 4. M. Azcona – 78, 5. A. Morgan – 37, …
*Subject to confirmation of the results following the technical and sporting verifications
