Thrilling qualify for Formula Renault 2.0 ALPS, this weekend involved on the historic street circuit of Pau for its second, out of seven, season’s venue.
Nyck de Vries, is once more the man to beat after the pole and the two wins set in Imola. Once more he will be starting from pole in yesterday afternoon’s race 1 after having set the fastest time in the second session clocking 1’13”913. First row will be completed by the impressive debuting driver Matevos Isaakyan, quite at ease with the JD Motorsport car.
Qualify starts with group B, where is once more the French Simon Gachet the fastest in the opening stages (he already was the fastest in the free practices). Behind the Arta Engineering the Monaco driver Charles Leclerc quickly closes the gap, lap after lap. Ten minutes into the session is the Russian Matevos Isaakyan turn to seize provisional pole while the Croatian Martin Kodric (Fortec Motorsports) is fourth still behind Leclerc. Good pace for the two Tech 1 Racing drivers Philo Paz Patric Armand and Akash Nandy, fifth and sixth, with the Malaysian also capable of being among the fastest in the early laps. With ten minutes to go new effort by Gachet who takes back the lead while Armand seizes third. Isaakyan does not give up and thus the JD Motorsport driver strikes back and retakes pole. In the meantime leap forward for Luke Chudleigh, fourth overall. A red flag waived after Kodric’s crash marks the end of the session.
A duel between the two Koiranen GP drivers George Russell and Nyck de Vries is the leit motiv in the first part of the group A session, just before de Vries edges away. Alessio Rovera is third just ahead of the other debuting Ben Barnicoat (Fortec Motorsports). Russell strikes back chased by Rovera and de Vries, but the final part of the session is once more crucial for the grid. The Dutch, already involved in the McLaren Young Driver Programme, sets fastest with Rovera second and Russell and Barnicoat behind. A new red flag for the Thiago Vivacqua’s mistake sets the end of the session with just few seconds to go.
Race 1 green light (25’ plus a lap) is set for later today at 17.35, Race 2 is scheduled tomorrow at 9.22.
All races will be broadcasted live on www.renaultsportitalia.it. Updates and news will be available on Twitter @flp_renault and on the official Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/fast.lane.promotion.
Qualifying Group B (top-5): 1. Matevos Isaakyan RUS (JD Motorsport) 1’13”977; 2. Simon Gachet FRA (Arta Enginnering) 1’14”096; 3. Charles Leclerc MCO (Fortec Motorsports) 1’14”644; 4. Luke Chudleigh Luke CAN (Tech 1 Racing) 1’14”855; 5. Philo Paz Patric Armand (Tech 1 Racing) PRI 1’14”969.
Qualifying Group A (top-5): 1. Nyck de Vries NED (Koiranen GP) 1’13”913; 2. Alessio Rovera ITA (Cram Motorsport) 1’13”923; 3. George Russell GBR (Koiranen GP) 1’14”092; 4. Ben Barnicoat GBR (Fortec Motorsports) 1’14”139; 5. Alex Bosak POL (Prema Powerteam) 1’14”549.
