ALEXANDER ROSSI IN P4 OF WSR CHAMPIONSHIP AFTER POINTS FROM RACE TWO AT HUNGARORING
American Alexander Rossi produced another solid performance at the Hungaroring to finish 5th in race two of round six, World Series by Renault in Budapest, Hungary today, taking him to 101 points and maintaining P4 position in the Championship.
In the morning qualifying session Rossi, Wickens, Vergne and Costa all showed that they were pole contenders by topping the time sheets in turn early doors. On fresh tyres after pitting, the drivers at the top, which included Rossi, all swapped provisional pole once again in an action packed last five minutes of the session. At the qualifying chequered flag Rossi, lined his Fortec Motorsport car 4th and on the second row of the grid for the start of race two in Hungary.
Sunday is the day when the Formula Renault 3.5 cars are in light aero/high downforce set-up, along with a mandatory race pit-stop window between laps 5 - 15. Once again, Rossi made a great start from 4th and held position before the safety car and yellow flag came out following contact between Negrao and Pentus in the first corner. Twelve minutes into the 28-lap race Wickens overtook Rossi when they both came in for their obligatory pit-stops, only later to be given a 10 seconds penalty when the stewards deemed his release from the pits to be ‘unsafe’. Stuck behind Wickens meant that Rossi, on cold tyres, now lost positions to Costa and Carroll who made a charge while the others’ came in for fresh rubber.
Rossi finished the race in 6th place, although time penalties given to Canamasas and Korjus did not affect his position. Rossi was however promoted to 5th following the 10 seconds penalty given to Wickens for blocking Rossi while both were leaving their pit boxes after their stops. Rossi collected a further ten Championship points this weekend to bring his total for the season so far to 101, with the Fortec Motorsport team now on 142 points. Rossi remains 4th in overall WSR championship standings, and only nine points behind third position, with his Fortec Motorsports team in P2 in the World Series by Renault FR3.5 Championships.
Alexander Rossi “Qualifying was really good and with the 1:33.2 lap time I set with minutes to go, I thought that it was good enough to hold pole. I only had one flying lap after that and caught Korjus in the final sector, so I was a bit disappointed to end up P4. For the race, we are usually quick in pit-stops and this is where we can make up time. I had a good start, taking Carroll, to only then be re-taken when I got stuck behind Canamasas. When I went in for my pit-stop I got jumped by three cars, so my finishing position could have been better than 5th. We came to Hungary looking for points. We closed the gap to the leaders and I am now only 9 points behind third in the Championship. I am confident with Silverstone, Paul Ricard and Barcelona circuits and with six races to go, anything is possible.”
Jamie Dye, Team Manager, Fortec Motorsports “To go away with 28 points is a very good achievement, but it could have been better. Alexander lost time on his in-lap for the pitstop, which allowed Wickens to pass him, however we were lucky that we were positively affected by the time penalty he was later given, and disappointingly we just missed out on another position when Canamasas and Korjus were also penalised. We need to close the gap to the other top drivers now and give a big push to both our championships’ title chases. We shall look at our overall performance and data from this weekend and see where we need to produce a little extra for the closing rounds of the season. We are hungry for wins and have plenty of races left to achieve this.”
