Italian racer Ignazio D’Agosto enjoyed a fantastic conclusion to the Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 season with Manor MP Motorsport at Jerez over the weekend, 17th/18th October, with a hat-trick of outstanding podium finishes in rounds 15, 16 and 17 at the Spanish track.
Improving on third position in the opening encounter on a rain-lashed Saturday with an excellent runner-up spot in race two later in the afternoon, D’Agosto added his third top three of the weekend in the final round on Sunday to move into ninth in the final championship standings.
Team-mates Dennis Olsen and Bruno Baptista, meanwhile, posted best results of eighth and 18th respectively with the former concluding the season eighth in the standings. Manor MP Motorsport, meanwhile, finished fourth in the entrants’ championship, just a single point outside the top three.
“Three podiums with Ignazio is a really great way to end the Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 season, he did a fantastic job all weekend”, said Manor MP Motorsport’s Tony Shaw, “The weather didn’t make things at all easy for anyone, the conditions were tough this weekend, but we’re very happy to have some more trophies and to finish the championship with such a strong and competitive showing.”
Rainfall was a feature of the season finale from the outset and round 15 on Saturday had to begin behind the Safety Car due to the treacherous conditions. D’Agosto qualified fourth fastest, with Olsen sixth and Baptista 12th quickest, and the cars circulated behind the Safety Car for several laps until red flags were flown with around 15 minutes left on the clock.
After a short delay, the action got back underway behind the Safety Car with racing proper beginning with roughly 10 minutes remaining of the allotted time. D’Agosto held fourth place and soon began to pressurise Ben Barnicoat for third but then, on the final lap, the Briton’s car slowed and D’Agosto was able to sweep past to claim third and his first Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 podium of 2015.
Olsen was edged back to seventh shortly after the re-start but challenged hard to regain sixth place and did so on lap nine. Disappointingly, though, he encountered similar misfortune to Barnicoat when his car came to a halt on the final lap. Although it did fire back up eventually, Olsen crossed the line down in 21st position while team-mate Baptista unfortunately retired early on.
Rain was again a major factor leading up to round 16 during the early evening on Saturday and although the race started behind the Safety Car, officials wasted little time in swiftly red flagging the contest due to the awful conditions.
Re-starting the action with just over 23 minutes on the clock, again behind the Safety Car initially, the cars were unleashed at full racing speed at the conclusion of lap three with D’Agosto holding his grid slot of second, Olsen sixth and Baptista in 14th position.
Sticking with pole qualifier Jack Aitken, and comfortably pulling away from the rest of the pack, D’Agosto remained in position until the race fell under caution once more on lap nine following a two-car tangle. Olsen, meanwhile, was edged back to seventh shortly before the Safety Car was re-deployed while Baptista’s race came to another frustrating early conclusion on lap six.
Racing resumed with time only for a single lap dash to the chequered flag and D’Agosto maintained his Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 season-best placing of second, just 0.6 seconds shy of race winner and eventual champion Aitken. Olsen, meanwhile, was shuffled back to eighth on the final tour.
The final race of the season on Sunday started with D’Agosto in fourth position, Olsen 10th and Baptista in 18th place. Following an early Safety Car, D’Agosto set about challenging for third and managed to take the place where he remained to the flag to cap a sensational weekend.
Olsen climbed into ninth on the first tour and then eighth following the initial cautionary period, although the Norwegian was shuffled back to 10th position before the finish. Baptista, meanwhile, was tipped into a spin at the first corner on the opening lap of the race but battled back through impressively from 26th place into 18th at the finish.
While Manor MP Motorsport’s motor racing season has now concluded, the sister MP Motorsport squad will return to the track five weeks from now, on Friday, 20th November, and Saturday, 21st November, for the penultimate event of the GP2 Series at Bahrain International Circuit.
