Cram Competition's Alessandro Kouzkin scored his first International Formula Master (IFM) victory Sunday in the Series' second round on the French street circuit of Pau.
Starting fifth, the 16-year-old rookie climbed through the field before overtaking AR Motorsport's Dennis Retera for the lead in a daring late-braking move on lap nine.
Starting from the front row, Retera had to fend off Trident Racing's Frankie Provenzano and Cram Competition's Harald Schlegelmilch before losing his place to Kouzkin. Both Provenzano and Schlegelmilch failed to complete the race, whilst Retera claimed second place.
Jenzer Motorsport's Pål Varhaug scored his second podium-finish of the weekend with a third place thanks to a clean race, as well as Provenzano and Schlegelmilch's retirements.
Hitech Junior's Alexander Rossi claimed his first IFM points with a fourth place finish, ahead of ADM Motorsport team-mates Earl Bamber and Marcello Puglisi who took the last point-scoring positions in fifth and sixth.
Despite crossing the finish line in seventh place, yesterday's race winner Fabio Leimer still claimed a point; the Jenzer Motorsport driver recorded the day's fastest lap in 1:11.703, setting a new IFM race lap record for the French circuit.
IFM's 2009 season resumes in two weeks' time at the Circuit y la Comunitat Valenciana Ricardo Tormo in Spain for rounds three and four. Both races will be broadcasted live on the pan-European channel Eurosport.
Retera leads at the start of the race ahead of Provenzano
Alessandro Kouzkin, Cram Competition
"I had a good start and then I passed Dennis; that was important. It was a difficult race but a special race for me because it's my first win and I'm very happy about this! I hope to do a fantastic race again in Valencia."
Dennis Retera, AR Motorsport
"It was a tough race for me; I had a good start from P1 but I did have to fight to keep the lead! Alessandro [Kouzkin] made a nice overtaking move; I thought I had the line but he got through anyway and I had to let him go. I still got second place, which I'm happy with. It's good to have a podium and it's good for the team. This was my first weekend in the Series, without any pre-season testing so we'll be celebrating!"
Pål Varhaug, Jenzer Motorsport
"I had very good start and the rest of the race was fun. I was careful not to crash into Schlegelmilch when I saw that he had a broken front wing and just waited until he had to pit. So for me it was a really nice race; I enjoyed it more today than yesterday actually as it was much tighter race. I'm really happy and thank the team for their hard work."
International Formula Master - Pau
Round 02
1. Alessandro Kouzkin (RUS), Cram Competition (#47)
2. Dennis Retera (NED), AR Motorsport (#32)
3. Pål Varhaug (NOR), Jenzer Motorsport (#7)
4. Alexander Rossi (USA), Hitech Junior (#16)
5. Earl Bamber (NZL), ADM Motorsport (#14)
6. Marcello Puglisi (ITA), ADM Motorsport (#15)
7. Fabio Leimer (SUI), Jenzer Motorsport (#6)
8. Simon Trummer (SUI), Iris Project (#8)
9. Sergey Afanasiev (RUS), JD Motorsport (#2)
10. Duncan Tappy (GBR), Team JVA (#30)
11. Kasper Andersen (DEN), Hitech Junior (#24)
12. Kelvin Snoeks (NED), AR Motorsport (#31)
13. Josef Kral (CZH), JD Motorsport (#3)
Not classifiedVladimir Arabadzhiev (BUL), JD Motorsport (#1)
Harald Schlegelmilch (LAT), Cram Competition (#10)
Frankie Provenzano (ITA), Trident Racing (#4)
Patrick Reiterer (ITA), Iris Project (#9)
Jonathan Kennard (GBR), Team JVA (#29)
IFM drivers' classification - top eight
1. Fabio Leimer (SUI), Jenzer Motorsport (#6), 13 points
2. Alessandro Kouzkin (RUS), Cram Competition (#47), 11 points
3. Pål Varhaug (NOR), Jenzer Motorsport (#7), 10 points
4. Vladimir Arabadzhiev (BUL), JD Motorsport (#1), 8 points
5. Dennis Retera (NED), AR Motorsport (#32), 6 points
6. Jonathan Kennard (GBR), Team JVA (#29), 4 points
7. Harald Schlegelmilch (LAT), Cram Competition (#10), 3 points
8. Alexander Rossi (USA), Hitech Junior (#16), 3 points
IFM teams' classification
1. Jenzer Motorsport, 20 points
2. Cram Competition, 14 points
3. JD Motorsport, 8 points
4. AR Motorsport, 6 points
5. Team JVA, 4 points
6. Hitech Junior, 3 points
7. ADM Motorsport, 3 points
8. Trident Racing 2 points
IFM rookies' classification
1. Pål Varhaug (NOR), Jenzer Motorsport (#7), 16 points
2. Alessandro Kouzkin (RUS), Cram Competition (#47), 14 points
3. Dennis Retera (NED), AR Motorsport (#32), 10 points
4. Alexander Rossi (USA), Hitech Junior (#16), 7 points
5. Jonathan Kennard (GBR), Team JVA (#29), 6 points
6. Duncan Tappy (GBR), Team JVA (#30), 6 points
7. Kelvin Snoeks (NED), AR Motorsport (#31), 1 point
Lap-by-lap analysis Lap 1: Kennard doesn't start - OUT / Tappy passes Leimer for sixth / Kral makes up four places to 14th place
Lap 3: Reiterer - OUT
Lap 4: Provenzano hits the barriers at Turn 3 whilst trying to pass Retera for the lead - OUT
Lap 5: Schlegelmilch tries to pass Retera for the lead unsuccessfully / Kouzkin passes Schlegelmilch for second / Rossi overtakes Leimer for sixth place / Kral passes Afanasiev for 12th place
Lap 6: Leimer is passed by Puglisi and Bamber / Leimer now ninth
Lap 9: Kouzkin brakes late and overtakes Retera for the lead
Lap 15: Rossi putting pressure on Tappy for fifth position
Lap 16: Rossi passes Tappy for fifth place / Arabadzhiev overtakes Leimer for ninth position
Lap 17: Black/orange flag for Schlegelmilch, driving with a broken front wing / Bamber up to sixth place
Lap 20: Schlegelmilch pits - OUT
Lap 21: Arabadzhiev spins at Turn 6 - OUT
Chequered flag: 14.24
