Manor MP Motorsport’s Dennis Olsen got his Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 campaign off to a great start at Motorland Aragon in Spain over the weekend, 25th/26th April, with victory during the third and final race adding to a top three finish in round two. While Saturday’s opening two races took place in the dry, round three on Sunday morning ran in very wet conditions – the race ultimately ending under the Safety Car following an incident which wiped-out Olsen’s team-mate Ignazio D’Agosto when he was on course for a podium himself. In fact, D’Agosto and Manor MP Motorsport’s third driver Lasse Sorensen were both in the battle for the top three in Sunday’s encounter but they each saw their hopes vanish through no fault of their own due to contact from other drivers. Olsen made a textbook start from pole position to lead while D’Agosto smartly rose from fifth on the grid into third place, edging ahead of Sorensen who, in fourth place, was the top rookie. Sorensen produced a great pass midway through the lap to move ahead of his Italian team-mate into third but then D’Agosto responded as a titanic battle developed. On the run to the hairpin at the end of the lap, though, Sorensen was hit by Ben Barnicoat and the resulting damage led to a frustrating retirement. As the race continued D’Agosto closed down the lead pair and then, on lap four, the Safety Car was deployed due to a stranded FR 2.0 on track. Racing was scheduled to resume on lap eight but as the cars approached the hairpin at the end of the seventh tour, Martin Kodric piled into the back of Jack Aitken’s second placed car and then ricocheted into D’Agosto – ruling all three drivers out on the spot. Officials had no option other than to end the race under Safety Car conditions, with Olsen claiming the win for Manor MP Motorsport to also end the weekend second in the championship. Even more frustratingly for D’Agosto, his pace was underlined with the fastest lap of 2m13.622 seconds. “It really is fantastic to take a win away from the first event of the season, Dennis deserved it as he was very fast in qualifying and had the pace all weekend”, said Manor MP Motorsport’s Sarah Shaw, “Race three was a real challenge for everyone with the conditions, Dennis did a great job at the front though and didn’t put a wheel wrong. “Lasse and Ignazio were so unlucky, they both had the pace for the podium and were having a great battle. It’s always frustrating to be forced out through no fault of your own, the important thing though is the pace they showed this weekend. All three guys are capable of a very strong season.” Olsen was incredibly close to securing pole position for the opening race of the season, a mere 0.011 seconds shy of the fastest time in first qualifying, but ultimately started round one third on the grid. After making a good getaway he challenged hard for second on the opening lap, with pace easily good enough for the podium, but was put wide at the end of the main straight and dropped to sixth. Recovering a couple of places ahead of D’Agosto, who made a superb getaway from 13th on the grid, Olsen remained there to the finish and at the chequered flag he just missed out on snatching fifth by less than a tenth of a second. D’Agosto managed to move up into seventh on lap three and after pressurising Olsen he latterly concentrated on maintaining position. Sorensen, meanwhile, had a mountain to climb after an opening lap tangle dropped him from 18th position to the tail of the field. From 28th position at the end of the first tour, the series rookie made great progress to eventually end his maiden Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 race inside the top 20. Olsen lined-up third on the grid again for round two on Saturday afternoon, coming within just 0.009 seconds of pole, and after initially challenging for second he maintained position. Following an early Safety Car period, the Norwegian settled into third to secure his first podium of the season. D’Agosto, starting in 13th position, climbed into the points-paying top 10 on lap one and following the Safety Car he broke into ninth place where he remained to the flag – ending the 13 lap race just 0.4 seconds shy of Aitken whom he had challenged hard during the second half of the race. From 17th on the grid, Sorensen put together an outstanding race and after moving into the top 15 on the first lap he had risen to the cusp of the top 10 prior to the appearance of the Safety Car. After taking 10th place following the re-start, Sorensen ran strongly in the tightly packed group featuring D’Agosto and Aitken and claimed an impressive first win in the Rookie classification. Spa-Francorchamps in Belgium will host the second event of the Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 season over the weekend 30th/31st May. One week earlier, on 23rd/24th May, Olsen, Sorensen and D’Agosto will be back in action with Manor MP Motorsport in the Formula Renault 2.0 Northern European Cup at Silverstone in the UK.Provisional 2015 Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 Driver Standings (after Rd3): 2nd Dennis Olsen, 48pts; 11th Ignazio D’Agosto, 8pts; Lasse Sorensen – No ScoreProvisional 2015 Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 Team Standings (after Rd3): 2nd Manor MP Motorsport, 56pts