Race Report

FORMULA RENAULT 2.0
2013 ALPS CHAMPIONSHIP, Rounds 03/04

Circuit: Imola (I), Length 4.909 km, 11^th/12^th May 2013
www.autodromoimola.com

JENZER MOTORSPORT 2013:
Kevin Joerg (CH), Denis Korneev (RUS), Max Schaumburg-Lippe (D) and Andrew Tang (SIN)

Full grid in Imola

The second of seven events for the Formula Renault 2.0 ALPS championship took place on the characterful Imola circuit and featured a full field of 37 drivers.
The races are part of the well known Peroni Race Program and can be followed via live stream on the official website http://www.renaultsportitalia.it/pg/streaming.html

Qualifying

Saturday, 11/05/13, 10.15 – 11.20, Weather: Rain, 17°C

According to the rules there is one qualifying session of 30 minutes, with the participants split into two groups, running in consecutive sessions. The best lap time per driver makes up the grid for race one, and the second fastest lap time for each driver determines the grid for race two.
The sky was dark grey, but the rain shower only started after the session had finished. Despite that the session was red flagged twice, making it very difficult to settle into a rhythm. It was Andrew who managed the best improvement towards the end of the session and he was rewarded with 5^th place in his group. Max finished 12^th.

Kevin and Denis were in the second group and again the session was stopped by red flags. After the second incident the session was not restarted, ending a good two minutes prematurely. This was a pity because both our drivers were on very fast laps, which had to be aborted. Kevin ended the sesion 11^th and Denis was 16^th in their group.

Formula Renault 2.0 ALPS Championship

Race One (25 minutes + 1 lap)

Saturday, 11/05/13, 17.20, Weather: Overcast, rain, 19°C

During the afternoon it alternated between rain and dry, but at the start of the race it was dry. As the big field got underway needless to say there were a few incidents. Andrew, who was already up in 8th got pushed off in one of the early corners and had a moment in the gravel that cost him several places. The car was full of gravel and the tyres dirty, but Andrew was able to continue and even fight for positions later in the race. Kevin got away well and immediately made up some ground, gaining places steadily and managed in the end to slip past Andrew. The two reached the finishing line in line astern in 14^th and 15^th places respectively. Denis had to avoid a spinning car after the start and in doing that ended up on the grass, losing both momentum and places. He managed to make up positions lap after lap after that and finally crossed the line in 22^nd place. Max got away well and had already moved up a few places when he ran wide onto the grass at the chicane and lost a few places. During the remainder of the race he managed to work his way forward again and finished the race just behind Denis in 23^rd place. We were happy to see all our cars finish the race in one piece, especially because it started to rain towards the end and quite a few cars spun off – including the leader Fuoco – the race was immediately red flagged and stopped.

Formula Renault 2.0 ALPS Championship

Race 2 (25 Minutes + 1 Lap)

Sunday, 12/05/13, 13.30, Weather: Cloudy, 21°C

Today was dry from the start and the sun was shining, which meant the second race started bang on time. The big field made it through the first few corners without any serious incidents. Andrew didn’t get a good start and fell back to 16^th; Kevin, on the other hand, managed to gain a few places and was now 18^th. Max held onto 23^th place and drove a controlled race until, a few laps before the end, someone spun in front of him and he wasn’t able to avoid a collision. That ended his race somewhat prematurely. Denis was hit by another car soon after the start, and his rear suspension was damaged. He was able to continue, though the handling of the car was not the same afterwards. Even so he fought his way forward and finished the race in 22^nd. Andrew and Kevin were battling with Ghorpade and Orudzhev for lap after lap, finding a way past Ghorpade towards the end of the race. However, Orudzhev first passed Kevin, and then, on the very last lap, also overtook Andrew. After a hard race in the middle of the pack Andrew and Kevin again finished the race in line together, Andrew in 14^th and Kevin in 15^th place.

The next race weekend of the ALPS championship is in one month‘s time, starting on 7^th June in Spa-Francorchamps (B).

Championship Standings

Formula Renault 2.0 ALPS Championship after 4 out of 14 Races:

1^st Antonio Fuoco (I), 93 points; 2^nd Pierre Gasly (F), 57 points; 3^rd Bruno Bonifacio (BRA), 52 points; 4^th Luca Ghiotto (I), 44 points; 5^th William Vermont (F), 41 points; 6^th Nick de Vries (NL), 32 points; 14^th Kevin Jörg (CH), 1 point

2013 CALENDAR

Formula Renault 2.0 ALPS Championship

For more information:

• www.renaultsportitalia.it
• www.italiaracing.net