08/09/07 - Donington – Race 1
To the delight of the crowds assembled on the grass at Donington Park, the track resounded to the tune of God Save the Queen as Jon Lancaster (SG Formula) notched up his first race win in Formula Renault 2.0. The Englishman was joined on the podium by Brendon Hartley – who consolidates his lead in the Eurocup standings – and Stefano Coletti (Epsilon Red Bull).
The start and the first few bends were incident-free. Jon Lancaster immediately took the lead, ahead of Brendon Hartley, Stefano Coletti, Alexandre Marsoin and Charles Pic (SG Formula). Further back, Joe Ghanem (Carlin Motorsport) and Stéphane Richelmi (Boutsen Energy Racing) retired from the race after colliding with each other.
Behind the top five, Nelson Panciatici (Boutsen Energy Racing), Jaime Alguersuari (Epsilon Red Bull) and Frank Kechele (Motopark Academy) were engaged in a ferocious battle for sixth place. Meanwhile, way down the field, Federico Muggia and Andrea Caldarelli collided and were forced to retire.
Without opening up an unassailable gap over his rivals, Jon Lancaster controlled the race. The former World Karting Championship runner-up did not let the pressure applied by Brendon Hartley get to him. Just behind, Stefano Coletti was keeping a watchful eye on Marsoin and Pic.
On the sixth lap, Hartley stepped up his assaults on Lancaster. Coletti, too, got involved in this scintillating tussle at the front of the field. With Alguersuari, Kechele and Mihai Marinescu (District Racing) still on his tail, Panciatici came back at Pic and looked for a way past.
Lap 10 proved disastrous for Charles Pic: first he was overtaken by Panciatici, and then by Alguersuari, Kechele and Leimer! Soon afterwards, the Frenchman lost his ninth place to Marinescu…
In the second half of the race, Jon Lancaster was able to shake off Hartley. But the enthralling battle in the chasing pack continued as Alguersuari passed Panciatici to go fifth.
Panciatici lost momentum towards the end of the race and was overtaken by Frank Kechele and Fabio Leimer. Meanwhile, Lancaster held on to clinch his maiden victory in Formula Renault 2.0!
Jon Lancaster: "The start was difficult, but I made sure I didn't make any mistakes and eventually I opened up a bit of a gap. Winning wasn't so difficult. It's a great feeling to have done it! I'm getting more confident with every race."
Brendon Hartley: "I put Jon under pressure on the first few laps, but I also had to hold off Stefano! In any case, finishing second here means I've increased my lead over Frank Kechele. I'm starting from pole tomorrow, so I'll be hoping for victory."
Stefano Coletti: Things are going better and better for me. When you've got a good car, it's easier to challenge for the top places!"
1 Jon Lancaster SG Driver's Project 2 Brendon Hartley Epsilon Red Bull Team 3 Stefano Coletti Epsilon Euskadi 4 Alexandre Marsoin SG Driver's Project 5 Jaime Jr. Alguersuari Epsilon Red Bull Team 6 Frank Kechele Motopark Academy 7 Fabio Leimer Jenzer Motorsport 8 Nelson Panciatici Boutsen Energy Racing 9 Mihai Marinescu District Racing 10 Charles Pic SG Formula 11 Oliver Oakes Motopark Academy 12 Fabio Onidi Motorsport Arena 13 Mika Mäki Epsilon Red Bull Team 14 Henki Waldschmidt Prema Power Team 15 Tobias Hegewald Motorsport Arena 16 Roberto Merhi Jenzer Motorsport 17 Martin Plowman Prema Power Team 18 Oliver Turvey Jenzer Motorsport 19 Aleix Alcaraz District Racing 20 Facundo Crovo Omicron Racing 21 Miguel Julià Epsilon Euskadi 22 Francesc Moreno Omicron Racing 23 Pedro Nunes SL Formula Racing 24 Daniele Zampieri Cram Competition 25 Pablo Montilla Epsilon Euskadi 26 Khalil Beschir Carlin Motorsport 27 Anton Nebiltskiy SL Formula Racing NC Frederico Muggia Cram Competition NC Joe Ghanem Carlin Motorsport NC Adrian Quaife-Hobbs BVM Minardi Team NC César Ramos BVM Minardi Team NC Tiago Petiz Omicron Racing NC Andrea Caldarelli Prema Power Team NC Stéphane Richelmi Boutsen Energy Racing
