After a dispapointing weekend at Motorland Aragon, Tech 1 Racing's Arthur Pic found his feet yesterday at Spa-Francorchamps, collecting his first Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 win. The Frenchman finished in front of Korainen Bros Racing's Kevin Korjus, who strengthened his lead in the overall points, and Epsilon Euskadi’s Genis Olivé.

In qualifying, Arthur Pic claimed both pole positions, in particular thanks to his mastery of the second half of the circuit. The Frenchman started in front of Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 championship leader Kevin Korjus, and Genis Olivé. The three drivers lined up facing the Eau Rouge bend, as the Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 race started in the direction of the Endurance pits, in the descent leading to the famous corner.

Pic made a perfect start, while Olivé overtook Korjus. Olivé was keen to get the better of Pic under braking at Combes, but the Spaniard ran wide, as did teammates Alex Riberas and Giovanni Venturini, Cram Competition’s André Negrao, and Korainen Bros Motorsport’s Bart Hykelma and Miki Weckstrom. Only Olivé recovered, rejoining the race in 4th place, while the other drivers were forced to retire. The safety car was brought out ahead of Pic, Korjus and One Racing's Daniel Mancinelli.

At the restart, Pic managed to hold on to first place as Mancinelli got stuck into Korjus. The Italian tried to take advantage of Korjus' slipstream in the entry to Combes, but Korjus held him off effortlessly, leaving Mancinelli to contend with the advances of Olivé. Meanwhile, the positions remained unchanged. Behind the tightly spaced leading foursome, One Racing's Jordan Oakes overtook Korainen Bros Motorsport's Jukka Honkavuori to gain 5th place. However, the British driver span off on lap 6, handing his position to the Finn. Meanwhile, Epsilon Euskadi’s Miguel Otegui, who started 13th on the grid, took advantage of the confusion to jump up the field and snatch fifth place.

After biding his time for a few laps, Pic had managed to build a narrow lead over Korjus while Mancinelli fought hard to hold off Olivé, who seemed more determined than ever following his spin at the start of the race. The Spaniard finally saw his chance, snatching third place.

Up in front, the positions would remain the same. Having claimed both pole positions, Pic now claims his first Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 win, leading Kevin Korjus who once again appeared very solid today. The Estonian holds onto his lead, while Olivé finished third after a chaotic start.

Quote, unquote:

Arthur Pic: “I needed this win after a difficult weekend at Motorland. I took both poles, which was the first step. Then I had to make sure I got a good start. I made some mistakes after the restart, but I came good. It’s a major victory.”

Kevin Korjus: “We’ve got a good car, but I wasn’t 100% confident on the circuit. I’ve still not quite got to grips with it, so it’s great to finish second and score more points.

Genis Olivé : “I made a very good start and I managed to draw level with Arthur. He braked late, I tried to follow suit, but it didn't work. After that I came back fighting, we were fast and I managed to beat Daniel Mancinelli. I’m very happy with this podium finish.”

Aleshin continued to exploit the competition for second place, raging between Pentus, Hartley and Coletti, to extend his lead. Behind them, Berthon led the chasing pack, holding off an increasingly menacing Albert Costa. Epsilon Euskadi’s Costa launched his attack at La Source on lap 4, just as KMP Racing’s Anton Nebylitskyi saw his chance to attack. The maneuver resulted in the Russian and French drivers locking wheels. Costa dropped to 5th with Nebylitskyi in 6th, while Berthon found himself in amongst the back-markers.

On the following lap, Hartley got the better of Pentus at the Bus Stop. The New Zealander pulled of a magnificent maneuver to snatch second place. His goal was to now to claw back the two-second lead which race leader Aleshin had built up. Hartley raised the stakes, gradually catching up with the Russian. Meanwhile, positions continued to change in the pack as Nebylistkyi overtook Costa to claim 5th place.

Hartley’s efforts were beginning to pay off. Twenty minutes from the end of the race, the Tech 1 Racing driver was sat squarely on Aleshin’s rear wing. Time and again, Hartley tried to get past Aleshin, first at the Bus Stop, then at La Source, but the Russian held him off well. Behind them Pentus was a solid third and Coletti fourth. The driver from Monaco kept busy trying to hold off a comeback staged by Nebylitskyi, Costa, P1 Motorsport’s Jan Charouz and Fortec Motorsport’s Jon Lancaster.

The big surprise of the race came on lap 16, when Hartley broke down at the Pouhon turn. The Tech 1 driver could only watch as the Aleshin enjoyed his second win of the season, ahead of Pentus. However, the battle for third place went right to the finish line. In a high-stakes race, Stefano Coletti came out on top to climb the podium for the first time in his Formula Renault 3.5 Series career.

Quotes

Mikhail Aleshin: “We’ve had a perfect start to the season! The competition has been intense and we’ve really had to fight, but it was an perfect day for Carlin and for me. I’ve been sick for a few days, and this morning I had a temperature of 38.5°C, so I wasn’t on top form. But if you’re going to win you have to forget about all that!”

Sten Pentus: “After my win at Motorland Aragon, it’s great to follow it with a podium finish. The race was very open at the start, after that it was quite a little calmer for me. But it’s never going to be easy here.”

Stefano Coletti: “After my accident last year, I’m very happy to get my first FR3.5 Series podium here at Spa. The last few laps with Nebylitskyi and Costa were crazy. My tyres were getting tired, and I made a few little mistakes. They tried to take advantage of me, but I wasn’t going to let them!”

After a dispapointing weekend at Motorland Aragon, Tech 1 Racing's Arthur Pic found his feet yesterday at Spa-Francorchamps, collecting his first Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 win. The Frenchman finished in front of Korainen Bros Racing's Kevin Korjus, who strengthened his lead in the overall points, and Epsilon Euskadi’s Genis Olivé.

In qualifying, Arthur Pic claimed both pole positions, in particular thanks to his mastery of the second half of the circuit. The Frenchman started in front of Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 championship leader Kevin Korjus, and Genis Olivé. The three drivers lined up facing the Eau Rouge bend, as the Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 race started in the direction of the Endurance pits, in the descent leading to the famous corner.

Pic made a perfect start, while Olivé overtook Korjus. Olivé was keen to get the better of Pic under braking at Combes, but the Spaniard ran wide, as did teammates Alex Riberas and Giovanni Venturini, Cram Competition’s André Negrao, and Korainen Bros Motorsport’s Bart Hykelma and Miki Weckstrom. Only Olivé recovered, rejoining the race in 4th place, while the other drivers were forced to retire. The safety car was brought out ahead of Pic, Korjus and One Racing's Daniel Mancinelli.

At the restart, Pic managed to hold on to first place as Mancinelli got stuck into Korjus. The Italian tried to take advantage of Korjus' slipstream in the entry to Combes, but Korjus held him off effortlessly, leaving Mancinelli to contend with the advances of Olivé. Meanwhile, the positions remained unchanged. Behind the tightly spaced leading foursome, One Racing's Jordan Oakes overtook Korainen Bros Motorsport's Jukka Honkavuori to gain 5th place. However, the British driver span off on lap 6, handing his position to the Finn. Meanwhile, Epsilon Euskadi’s Miguel Otegui, who started 13th on the grid, took advantage of the confusion to jump up the field and snatch fifth place.

After biding his time for a few laps, Pic had managed to build a narrow lead over Korjus while Mancinelli fought hard to hold off Olivé, who seemed more determined than ever following his spin at the start of the race. The Spaniard finally saw his chance, snatching third place.

Up in front, the positions would remain the same. Having claimed both pole positions, Pic now claims his first Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 win, leading Kevin Korjus who once again appeared very solid today. The Estonian holds onto his lead, while Olivé finished third after a chaotic start.

QuotesArthur Pic: “I needed this win after a difficult weekend at Motorland. I took both poles, which was the first step. Then I had to make sure I got a good start. I made some mistakes after the restart, but I came good. It’s a major victory.”

Kevin Korjus: “We’ve got a good car, but I wasn’t 100% confident on the circuit. I’ve still not quite got to grips with it, so it’s great to finish second and score more points.

Genis Olivé : “I made a very good start and I managed to draw level with Arthur. He braked late, I tried to follow suit, but it didn't work. After that I came back fighting, we were fast and I managed to beat Daniel Mancinelli. I’m very happy with this podium finish.”