14 September 2013
Title within reach for Mirko Bortolotti
Mirko Bortolotti (Oregon Team) won his seventh race of the season to take a major stride towards the 2013 Eurocup Megane Trophy title at the Hungaroring on Saturday. The Italian led from start to finish and took the flag from Kelvin Snoeks (Oregon Team) and Kevin Gilardoni (Oregon Team). After lying second for most of the race, Bortolotti’s main title rival Mike Verschuur (McGregor by Equipe Verschuur) ran off the track two laps from the end and could only finish tenth.
Mirko Bortolotti claimed his eighth pole of the season in a rainy qualifying session that was interrupted by a red flag when Steven Palette (Team Lompech Sport) went off. The championship favourite was in a class of his own, lapping two seconds faster than team-mates Kelvin Snoeks and Kevin Gilardoni, with Mike Verschuur and Erik Janis (Gravity Charouz) behind them on the grid.
The challenging conditions forced a safety-car start and at the end of lap one the whole field chose to make their compulsory pit stop. Kevin Gilardoni was slow out, allowing Mike Verschuur to jump past him, while Erik Janis lost three places in the pits.
The race began in earnest on lap three, with Mirko Bortolotti stringing together a series of fastest laps to pull out a significant lead. On lap 12 Mike Verschuur moved into second after passing Kelvin Snoeks, who was immediately challenged by Kevin Gilardoni. Then, two laps from home, Mike Verschuur ran off the track, the Dutchman eventually trailing home in tenth.
There was no stopping Mirko Bortolotti, however, as he eased home for his seventh victory of the campaign ahead of Kelvin Snoeks and Kevin Gilardoni. Steven Palette (Team Lompech Sport) came in fourth from Erik Janis, Max Braams (Las Moras by Equipe Verschuur) and Vladimir Lunkin (Oregon Team), who found a way past Mihai Marinescu (Oregon Team) on the final lap. The championship leader now has the title within reach. Should he score 13 more points than Mike Verschuur in tomorrow’s race, the crown will be his.
What they said
Mirko Bortolotti: “We showed how solid we are today. Our pace was terrific in qualifying despite the traffic. With the safety car starting the race, we decided to pit on the first lap and not waste time. Everyone else did the same. After that we found some great pace and we hope to do the same tomorrow.”
Kelvin Snoeks: “Mirko did a fantastic job in qualifying. I feel happy when I look at the result and see I came second, but the gap was enormous. It was a tricky race and I made a mistake that allowed Mike to get past me. Then he went off. I’m delighted with the final result.”
Kevin Gilardoni: “This one-two-three has once again shown that the team can be quick in all conditions. I would have liked to have been first, just like in testing yesterday, but I had a clutch problem on refuelling and that stopped me.”
Provisional Eurocup Megane Trophy standings: 1. M. Bortolotti 205 points; 2. M. Verschuur 118; 3. E. Janis 97; 4. K. Gilardoni 91; 5. K. Snoeks 89.
*To be confirmed following post-race inspections.
