Eurocup Mégane Trophy - Nürburgring - Race 1
Everything started badly for Michaël Rossi (TDS) who stalled at the start.
The Frenchman still managed to make it into first place, taking advantage of the misfortunes of Maxime Martin (Thierry Boutsen Energy Racing) and Dimitri Enjalbert (Tech 1 Racing). But a technical problem hampered Rossi on the final lap, handing victory to David Dermont (Thierry Boutsen Energy Racing).
The poleman, Michaël Rossi, stalled on the start line. Dimitri Enjalbert made the most of it, but crashed out on the first corner. Ludovic Badey (TDS) took first place ahead of Maxime Martin and Fabrice Walfisch (Team Oregon). At the end of the first lap, Enjalbert was in tenth and Rossi in twelfth.
On the second lap, Maxime Martin shook off Ludovic Badey. Badey in turn had to fend off the advances of Walfisch. In fourth, Jonathan Hirschi had caught up with the two men. Meanwhile, Enjalbert and Rossi continued to make progress. At the end of the third lap they held seventh and eighth places. The two drivers then swapped places as Rossi saw his chance.
Jonathan Hirschi was the first to refuel on the fifth lap, followed one lap later by teammate Dimitri Enjalbert and then by Michaël Rossi. Meanwhile out in front, Maxime Martin increased his lead, while Badey and Walfisch struggled to break free. Just behind them, David Dermont was waiting to make his move.
The leaders opted for the same strategy and entered the pits on the seventh lap. Maxime Martin held onto first place ahead of Michaël Rossi and David Dermont, as Ludovic Badey gave up the chase due to a rear-suspension problem. Dimitri Enjalbert was also forced to retire due to a burst radiator.
Twelve minutes from the finish, Maxime Martin, who was still in the lead, span off while passing a back marker, handing first place to Michaël Rossi. Martin lost a lot of ground in the incident, and dropped back to ninth.
Michaël Rossi defended his lead over David Dermont until the finish. But in a final twist during the last lap, Rossi slowed down, his car coming to a stand-still just after the chequered flag.
David Dermont took advantage and claimed his first victory in Eurocup Mégane Trophy ahead of Michaël Rossi and Bernhard Ten Brinke (Equipe Verschuur). Ten Brinke moved up to take the third place on the podium when Matthieu crashed out. The Dutchman was also rewarded for a daring choice of strategy, waiting until the last minute to refuel.
Fifth overall, Jean-Philippe Madonia (TDS) claimed victory in the Gentlemen Drivers category.
David Dermont: «This is my first win in Eurocup Mégane Trophy. I was sixth before refueling. I was hoping to finish fifth, but I made it up to second and then first place. It's unbelievable!»
Rossi: «Everything started badly for me, I really mistimed my start. Since the start of the weekend, my temperature warning light has kept coming on. It happened again in the final laps. Thankfully, only my rivals for the Championship title knew I had problems. So congratulations to David, he knew when to take his chance!»
Bernhard Ten Brinke: «I started on fresh tyres today. So I knew that I'd be able to my opportunity when the other drivers were in the pits. I waited until the last moment to refuel. All in all, this is a good result for me, one more podium!"
Pos Number Driver Team Laps Time GapFirst KPH
1 9 David DERMONT Boutsen Energy Racing 20 43:51.762 - 144.3 2 12 Michaël ROSSI TDS 20 43:54.641 +2.879 145.7 3 7 Bernhard TEN BRINKE Equipe Verschuur 1 20 43:54.807 +3.045 144.8 4 3 Jonathan HIRSCHI Tech 1 Racing 2 20 43:55.378 +3.616 143.8 5 14 Jean - Philippe MADONIA TDS 20 43:56.877 +5.115 144.4 6 11 Andreas MAYERL Race Performance 20 44:04.548 +12.786 144.0 7 8 Maxime MARTIN Boutsen Energy Racing 20 44:05.167 +13.405 145.1 8 2 Matthieu CHERUY Tech 1 Racing 1 20 44:08.687 +16.925 145.3 9 20 Wim BEELEN Equipe Verschuur 2 20 44:32.584 +40.822 143.6 10 4 Bernard DELHEZ Tech 1 Racing 2 20 44:44.952 +53.190 143.2 11 16 Jean - Charles MIGINIAC Team Lompech Sport 20 44:46.490 +54.728 141.9 12 17 Pierre HIRSCHI Team Lompech Sport 20 45:11.187 +1:19.425 142.2 13 15 Joel DHOUAILLY Team Lompech Sport 19 43:59.462 1 Lap 138.4 14 18 Rafael UNZURRUNZAGA Blue Jumeirah Team 19 44:15.096 1 Lap 137.6 6 Harrie KOLEN Equipe Verschuur 1 17 39:54.893 140.7 21 Hoevert VOS Equipe Verschuur 2 13 28:52.665 143.4 24 Fabrice WALFISCH Oregon Team 1 12 27:03.608 144.0 23 Ludovic BADEY TDS 8 18:04.018 143.9 73 Angelo BAIGUERA Oregon Team 1 6 13:49.593 139.2 1 Dimitri ENJALBERT Tech 1 Racing 1 5 11:01.910 144.2 25 Daniele PERFETTI Oregon Team 1 5 12:09.409 140.0
