14 September 2013
Pierre Gasly proves a man for all conditions
France’s Pierre Gasly (Tech 1 Racing) scored his second win of the Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 season at the Hungaroring on Saturday morning to reclaim the championship lead from Oliver Rowland (Manor MP Motorsport), who could only finish eighth in the weekend’s opening race. Joining the Tech 1 Racing man on the podium were Esteban Ocon (ART Junior Team) and Nyck de Vries (Koiranen GP).
In Friday’s qualifying session, conducted on a dry track, Pierre Gasly seized his second pole of the year, with title rival Oliver Rowland (Manor MP Motorsport) joining him on the front of the grid and , Esteban Ocon, Jake Dennis (Fortec Motorsports) and Nyck de Vries behind them.
Conditions were a good deal different on Saturday, however, as the safety car led the drivers off before making its exit on lap three, at which point Esteban Ocon slipped past Oliver Rowland and into second, with Pierre Gasly ahead of him.
Esteban Ocon built up the pressure on his compatriot only to make a slight error on lap six and allow Pierre Gasly to extend the gap. Looking to make the most of the situation, Oliver Rowland attempted to make a move on lap ten but ran out of space and came together with his closest pursuer Jake Dennis, allowing Nyck de Vries to dive into third.
In a race that saw a number of off-track excursions it was Pierre Gasly who took the chequered flag from Esteban Ocon and Nyck de Vries, the Dutchman claiming his first podium finish in the category in nearly a year. Egor Orudzhev came home fourth after a fine recovery drive and was followed in by Jake Dennis and Luca Ghiotto (Prema Powerteam). On the last lap, meanwhile, Oscar Tunjo (Josef Kaufmann Racing) snatched seventh from Oliver Rowland, while Bruno Bonifacio (Prema Powerteam) and Andrea Pizzitola (ART Junior Team) also finished in the points.
What they said
Pierre Gasly: “The conditions were really tricky at the start. Esteban and Oliver were really close but they got into a tussle and that helped me pull away, and I even managed to pick my pace up. It’s a really important win in terms of the championship. It’s great to see the car performing so well in the dry and the wet.”
Esteban Ocon: “I’m very happy to be back on the podium after having such a tough meeting at the Red Bull Ring. I managed to find a way past Oliver but Pierre was too far away for me to catch him. We need to keep on working to find that little bit extra. Let’s see how it goes tomorrow.”
Nyck de Vries: “The start of the season didn’t go as expected, so I’m delighted to be back on the podium. We’ve been through some tough times but the confidence is starting to come back. I’d like to say thanks to everyone who’s supported me. Together we’ll come back stronger.”
Provisional Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 standings: 1. P. Gasly 127 points; 2. O. Rowland 123; 3. E. Ocon 89; 4. J. Dennis 86; 5. O. Tunjo 71.
*Results to be confirmed, pending post-race technical inspections
