31 May 2014
Pole and a record for Nyck de Vries
Championship leader Nyck de Vries (Koiranen GP) scored his second Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 pole of the season at Spa on Saturday morning. A member of the McLaren Young Driver Development Programme, the Dutchman posted a new lap record of 2:17.058 and will share the front row with Kevin Jörg (Josef Kaufmann Racing). Lining up right behind them will be Dennis Olsen (Prema Powerteam) and Callan O’Keeffe (ART Junior Team).
First out on the track, the drivers in Group A were greeted by bright sunlight, with Dennis Olsen the first to set a benchmark time. The Norwegian fought off his challengers to stay fastest right through to the last five minutes, when Nyck de Vries clocked a new lap record of 2:17.058, half a second quicker than Dennis Olsen and Levin Amweg (ART Junior Team).
In Group B, meanwhile, there were several changes at the top of the timesheets before Kevin Jörg stamped his authority midway through the session with a lap of 2:17.222. Though slower than Nyck de Vries’ time, it was enough for him to take the group honours ahead of Lotus F1 Junior Team drivers Callan O’Keeffe and Alexander Albon (KTR).
The weekend’s first Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 gets under way at 14:05.
Nyck de Vries: “We are thrilled to have got pole with such a dominant performance. We managed to get a little bit of a tow behind Dennis Olsen, and I can see that having a big part to play in how the race pans out. It promises to be a tough one and we’ll need to work hard.”
