WSbR Two poles for Bottas

Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 Silverstone - Qualifying

Just as he did at Spa-Francorchamps, Valtteri Bottas (Motopark Academy) showed irresistible form in yesteday morning's qualifying session, winning pole position for both of the weekend's races in comprehensive fashion. Dean Smith (Fortec Motorsport) also shone on his home patch, winning a place on the front row for race 1, while Andrea Caldarelli (SG Formula) will line up alongside Bottas in race 2.

Group B

Group B were up first, and Daniel Zampieri (BVM Minardi Team) and Michele Faccin (Jenzer Motorsport) dominated the early part of the session. Faccin was leading at the halfway stage, ahead of Pal Varhaug (Jenzer Motorsport) and Zampieri. Andrea Caldarelli (SG Formula) then came to the fore, clocking the best time in the group with 1'45''996, just ahead of Zampieri. Mathieu Arzeno (Epsilon Sport) was third.

Group A

Pablo Montilla (Epsilon Euskadi) set the pace early on. Cesar Ramos (BVM Minardi Team) then moved past him into top spot, before crashing off at Copse as Daniel Ricciardo (SG Formula) moved into the lead with a time of 1'45''415. Ramos's best time would subsequently be cancelled, as his slip-up brought the session under full yellow. Denied a place in the SuperPole, the Brazilian will now start from the back of the grid.

There were less than three minutes remaining when the green flags came back out, giving Bottas just enough time for one lap, of which he took full advantage. His time of 1'45''143 put him top, ahead of Daniel Ricciardo and Roberto Merhi, with Dean Smith nipping in at the death to claim the last place in the SuperPole.

SuperPole

The session began with a duel between Roberto Merhi (Epsilon Euskadi) and Dean Smith (Fortec Motorsport). The Brit took the lead with a lap timed at 1'46''432, before the Epsilon Sport boys took control, Mathieu Arzeno claiming first place ahead of his teammate Stéphane Richelmi. Albert Costa (Epsilon Euskadi) then sneaked in between those two as the yellow flag was brought out after Nathanaël Berthon (Boutsen Energy Racing) ran off.

Shortly afterwards, Valtteri Bottas (Motopark Academy) moved into first position with a time of 1'44''522. As the end of the session approached, the times got quicker. Dean Smith moved back up to second, while Andrea Caldarelli and Jean-Eric Vergne (SG Formula) clocked the third and fourth fastest times.

Just before the chequered flag, Valtteri Bottas improved on his time with 1'44''492, enough to secure him pole position for both races. On the grid for race 1, the Finn will start just ahead of Dean Smith and Andrea Caldarelli, while for the weekend's second race, Andrea Caldarelli and Daniel Ricciardo (SG Formula) and Michele Faccin (Jenzer Motorsport) will be closest to the poleman.

Valtteri Bottas: "This is a good result – you can't hope for better than two poles! I've been driving quickly all weekend. Everything's working really well for the time being. I was a bit concerned when the yellow flag came out, but I managed to get my times in when it mattered. I was really tight on every bend, but I didn't make a single mistake and put in two perfect laps."

Andrea Caldarelli: "I'm happy, as my weekend got off to a bad start. We found the setup that had eluded us during testing. I'm confident about my prospects in the race as I think we've got a good car now."

POS NUMBER DRIVER TEAM LAP TIME GAP_FIRST KPH LAPS  1 11 Valtteri BOTTAS MOTOPARK ACADEMY 4 1:44.492 - 177.1 5   2 41 Dean SMITH FORTEC MOTORSPORT 8 1:45.175 +0.683 175.9 10   3 14 Andrea CALDARELLI SG FORMULA 4 1:45.312 +0.820 175.7 6   4 6 Jean Eric VERGNE SG DRIVERS PROJECT 4 1:45.316 +0.824 175.7 6   5 8 Roberto MERHI EPSILON EUSKADI 2 7 1:45.331 +0.839 175.7 9   6 12 Daniel RICCIARDO SG FORMULA 4 1:45.457 +0.965 175.5 6   7 27 Michele FACCIN JENZER MOTORSPORT 5 1:45.558 +1.066 175.3 6   8 28 Pal VARHAUG JENZER MOTORSPORT 5 1:45.789 +1.297 174.9 6   9 34 Mathieu ARZENO EPSILON SPORT 5 1:45.806 +1.314 174.9 9   10 44 Alex MORGAN FORTEC COMPETITION 8 1:45.809 +1.317 174.9 9   11 31 Himar ACOSTA IQUICK 4 1:45.829 +1.337 174.8 6   12 10 Tobias HEGEWALD MOTOPARK ACADEMY 8 1:45.855 +1.363 174.8 9   13 43 Gabriel DIAS FORTEC COMPETITION 8 1:45.885 +1.393 174.8 9   14 17 Sergio CAMPANA PREMA POWERTEAM 4 1:45.887 +1.395 174.8 6   15 7 Albert COSTA EPSILON EUSKADI 2 5 1:45.893 +1.401 174.7 6   16 26 Adrian QUAIFE-HOBBS BVM MINARDI TEAM 9 1:45.918 +1.426 174.7 10   17 42 Daniel MCKENZIE FORTEC MOTORSPORT 7 1:45.970 +1.478 174.6 7   18 19 Adam KOUT KRENEK MOTORSPORT 6 1:46.096 +1.604 174.4 6   19 29 Siso CUNILL JENZER MOTORSPORT 6 1:46.143 +1.651 174.3 6   20 35 Stephane RICHELMI EPSILON SPORT 4 1:46.215 +1.723 174.2 9   21 36 Richard SINGLETON HITECH JUNIOR TEAM 8 1:46.494 +2.002 173.8 9   22 2 Pablo MONTILLA EPSILON EUSKADI 1 2 1:47.167 +2.675 172.7 8   23 21 Nathanaël BERTHON BOUTSEN ENERGY RACING 2 1:47.232 +2.740 172.6 3   24 23 Juan Pablo GARCÍA TEAM MOTOPARK 8 1:47.661 +3.169 171.9 9  

POS NUMBER DRIVER TEAM TIME GAP_FIRST GAP_PREVIOUS  1 11 Valtteri BOTTAS MOTOPARK ACADEMY 1:44.522 - -   2 14 Andrea CALDARELLI SG FORMULA 1:45.601 +1.079 +1.079   3 12 Daniel RICCIARDO SG FORMULA 1:45.618 +1.096 +0.017   4 27 Michele FACCIN JENZER MOTORSPORT 1:45.627 +1.105 +0.009   5 44 Alex MORGAN FORTEC COMPETITION 1:45.831 +1.309 +0.204   6 6 Jean Eric VERGNE SG DRIVERS PROJECT 1:45.888 +1.366 +0.057   7 10 Tobias HEGEWALD MOTOPARK ACADEMY 1:45.913 +1.391 +0.025   8 8 Roberto MERHI EPSILON EUSKADI 2 1:45.964 +1.442 +0.051   9 26 Adrian QUAIFE-HOBBS BVM MINARDI TEAM 1:45.966 +1.444 +0.002   10 43 Gabriel DIAS FORTEC COMPETITION 1:46.036 +1.514 +0.070   11 34 Mathieu ARZENO EPSILON SPORT 1:46.075 +1.553 +0.039   12 7 Albert COSTA EPSILON EUSKADI 2 1:46.080 +1.558 +0.005   13 41 Dean SMITH FORTEC MOTORSPORT 1:46.106 +1.584 +0.026   14 31 Himar ACOSTA IQUICK 1:46.123 +1.601 +0.017   15 28 Pal VARHAUG JENZER MOTORSPORT 1:46.142 +1.620 +0.019   16 42 Daniel MCKENZIE FORTEC MOTORSPORT 1:46.201 +1.679 +0.059   17 29 Siso CUNILL JENZER MOTORSPORT 1:46.208 +1.686 +0.007   18 35 Stephane RICHELMI EPSILON SPORT 1:46.272 +1.750 +0.064   19 17 Sergio CAMPANA PREMA POWERTEAM 1:46.303 +1.781 +0.031   20 36 Richard SINGLETON HITECH JUNIOR TEAM 1:46.565 +2.043 +0.262   21 19 Adam KOUT KRENEK MOTORSPORT 1:46.590 +2.068 +0.025   22 2 Pablo MONTILLA EPSILON EUSKADI 1 1:47.809 +3.287 +1.219   23 23 Juan Pablo GARCÍA TEAM MOTOPARK 1:47.826 +3.304 +0.017   24 21 Nathanaël BERTHON BOUTSEN ENERGY RACING   +2.710 +0.642  


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