Belgian rookie Dries Vanthoor took his first win in the Formula Renault Northern European Cup this morning. Championship leader Louis Delétraz finished an unspectacular 5th, his gap to rival Kevin Jörg being narrowed slightly thanks to 3rd place from the latter.
A poor start from Jörg allowed Ukyo Sasahara and Vanthoor through, with the Japanese driver only briefly holding the lead before the Josef Kaufmann Racing machine of the Belgian overtook him, setting the fastest lap in the process.
Out in front the order remained stable with Vanthoor at the head of the pack. Also going quickly were Sasahara and Daruvala, who both put in fastest laps as the race progressed. Warning flags for track limits were shown to Bruno Baptista and Daruvala. The Koiranen driver brought his car into the pits not long after that, becoming the second retiree after Alex Gill.
Out of the points the drivers were scrapping away; Chaves with Fredriksson, the Portuguese gaining the advantage there, Habsburg and Mazepin, anda Daruvala and Kleveros both passing Max Defourny. The Belgian ace whose success and skill had at the previous round seen him grab his maiden win had what can only be described as a tragedy of a race, falling down to finish 18th minus a font wing.
Dries Vanthoor held onto his lead with an iron grasp, not even a late charge from Jörg could stop him claiming his first win of the series at Assen. Josef Kaufmann Racing increase their lead at the top of the Team Championship thanks to Vanthoor, who will hope to repeat his success tomorrow.
