Jean-Eric Vergne (SG Formula) got his season off to the best possible start with 2 pole positions and 2 victories on the Nogaro circuit. The reigning French champion confirmed his status as favourite for the 2009 Formula Renault 2.0 WEC title. The track was completely soaked on Saturday evening when the drivers came out for the first qualifying session. SG Formula dominated the Epsilon Euskadi and Pole Service drivers in these conditions. The team from La Rochelle had 6 cars on the first 3 rows led by Jean-Eric Verge followed by Miki Monras, Hugo Valente, Dominic Storey, Ramez Azzam and Arthur Pic. Benjamin Lariche (Pole Services) and Albert Costa (Epsilon Euskadi) were pushed back to the fourth row.
On Sunday afternoon, the track was still damp for the first race. Vergne took full advantage of his pole position and shot to the front from Monras, Valente, Storey, Azzam and Costa who overtook Pic. The first lap proved fatal for Bastien Borget (Pole Services) who retired. Vergne pushed really hard in the opening laps to make the break pulling out a second per lap. Just before half distance Storey retired (accident) and on lap 12 (out of 17) Azzam got the better of Valente who made a mistake in the Caupenne corners. The positions were as follows: Verge, Monras, Azzam, Costa, Pic, Nethanaël, Berthon (Epsilon Euskadi), Julien Abelli (SG Formula), Kevin Bresse (SG Formula) and Benjamin Lariche (Pole Services). The final twist came on the last lap when Pic found a way past Costa to give SG Formula the first 4 places!
“My main aim was to make a good start as I knew I had the speed to open up a gap,” explained Vergne. “It all went off very well and I even tried some new lines in the race!” Spaniard Miki Monras who came second acknowledged that his team-mate was quicker. “I also made a good start but not good enough to worry Jean-Eric. He made the break in the opening laps and I wasn’t able to catch him. We have almost the same set-up so I’ve still got to make some more progress.” Azzam from the Arab Emirates was on the Formula Renault 2.0 WEC rostrum for the first time after a steady race. “I made an effort not to make any mistakes today unlike the two drivers who went off in front of me. After a pretty good qualifying session it’s great to achieve such a result!”
On Monday morning, the rain had stopped and the sun made a timid appearance when the drivers began the second qualifying session. This time the battle for pole was very close and Vergne was only 36/100s quicker than Costa. After scrutineering Costa’s car was found to have illegal suspension and he was sent to the back of the field.
The second race started in spring like conditions. When the lights went out Verge took the lead with his team-mates Abelli, Monras and Pic on his gearbox. The latter was handed a drive-through penalty for having cut the white line marking the pits during the grid procedure. He handed his place to Kevin Breysse but scored the point for the fastest lap in the race.
While this was going on Costa was putting on a marvellous display of aggressive driving. He was up into eighth place after only 4 laps passing Borget, Lariche, Storey and Breysse. He got up to fourth on lap 15 (out of 18) and was all over Monras last time round. The latter managed to fend off his fellow countryman. “Luckily, there weren’t another couple of laps to go as Albert was bloody quick. I’m happy to be on the rostrum twice this weekend: it’s a good start.”
Vergne won again and had every reason to be satisfied with his weekend. “It’s all gone off very well this weekend, and these two victories have really boosted my confidence. Next week we’ll be tackling the Eurocup in Barcelona and I’m determined to fight for the title.”
Overall classification1. Vergne 32 pts – 2. Monras 23 pts – 3. Abelli et Costa 16 pts – 5. Azzam 11 pts – 6. Berthon et Breysse 9 pts – 8. Pic 7 pts – 9. Storey et Lariche 5 pts…
