- Kout - Front Row - Silverstone - Qualifying
Jean-Éric Vergne (SG Formula) has taken both pole positions in Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0, on the Silverstone circuit.
The French driver is set start from pole for the first time of the season. The surprise of these qualifying sessions comes from Adam Kout (Krenek Motorsport). The Czech driver produced the second best lap time, on one of his favourite circuits. Group B:
There was a five-minute wait before the first drivers of Group B took to the track. A duel between Jean-Éric Vergne (SG Formula) and Albert Costa (Epsilon Euskadi) immediately ensued.
The Frenchman got the upper hand over the Spanish driver, clocking 1'46''242. Albert Costa hit back on the following lap to take control with a time of 1'46''009.
Costa led from Jean-Éric Vergne and Arthur Pic (SG Formula). At his last attempt, Adrian Quaife-Hobbs took fourth place, ahead of Nigel Melker (MP Motorsport) and Matias Laine (Motopark Academy).
Group A: Luis Derani (Motopark Academy) and Jakub Knoll (Krenek Motorsport) were first out on track, leaving their rivals waiting patiently in the pits. Then Antonio Felix da Costa (Motopark Academy) and Marco Sorensen (Motopark Academy) got down to some serious business. Antonio Felix da Costa went to the top of the timing screens in 1'46''026, relayed by Miki Monras as he upped the pace with 1'46''026. Carlos Munoz and Kevin Magnussen moved into second and third. Magnussen improved the time at the end of the session and finished second, while Adam Kout (Krenek Motorsport) grabbed a fourth place, ahead of Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 leader, Antonio Felix da Costa. SuperPole: Albert Costa and Adrian Quaife-Hobbs established themselves at the top of the leaderboard as SuperPole got underway. But the last ten minutes were to be decisive. Antonio Felix da Costa took provisional pole with a time of 1'46''756, ahead of Arthur Pic and Miki Monras (SG Formula). It was Jean-Éric Vergne who hit back. With a lap clocked in 1'45''962, the Frenchman shot to the top of the timing sheets four minutes from the end of the session.
Adam Kout sprang the surprise of the day by grabbing the second best time. After a final attempt by Antonio Felix da Costa, who moved up to third position, the order stayed the same until the chequered flag. As a result, Vergne takes both pole positions. He's to share the front row with Adam Kout for race 1and with Albert Costa for race 2 on Sunday.
Quotes
Jean-Éric Vergne: "These two poles are a great relief. I made some little errors, so I didn't think I'd have both pole positions. We've got a good car, it's really fantastic. I need to win both races to come back in the overall standings." Adam Kout: "It's incredible, it hasn't really sunk in as yet. I like this circuit a lot and I've been on the pace since the start of collective testing. The car is a very effective. We've been working a lot with the Krenek Motorsport team, this result is a good reward for that and a podium finish would be great."
Antonio Felix da Costa: "My best lap was fifth, and that's not good. Having said that, it means we have an effective car for the race. I got caught up in the traffic, but I really wanted pole today. I have to be really focused in the race, it's still possible to get a win."
