Pierre Gasly (Tech 1 Racing) made the perfect start to the weekend at Paul Ricard, claiming pole on Friday evening before taking a dominant victory from Luca Ghiotto (Prema Powerteam) and Nyck de Vries (Koiranen GP) in today’s race. The win moves the Frenchman back to the top of the Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 championship standings, above Oliver Rowland (Manor MP Motorsport), who finished sixth.
On Friday, Pierre Gasly claimed his third pole of the year. The Tech 1 Racing driver was joined on the front row by Luca Ghiotto, with Nyck de Vries and Ignazio D’Agosto (KTR) lining up behind. The Frenchman’s closest title rivals, Oliver Rowland and Esteban Ocon (ART Junior Team), started from the fifth and seventh rows respectively.
Despite a difficult getaway, Pierre Gasly held his lead from the start. And Oliver Rowland gained several places to move up to sixth. But the safety car was called into action at the end of lap one to remove Oscar Tunjo (Josef Kaufmann Racing), Aurélien Panis (Prema Powerteam) and Ryan Tveter (Fortec Motorsports), all of whom were victims of a frenetic start to the race.
At the restart, Pierre Gasly retained his lead and gradually stretched his advantage over Luca Ghiotto and Nyck de Vries. Jake Dennis then found an opening to pass Ignazio D’Agosto, while Oliver Rowland found himself under pressure from Egor Orudzhev (Tech 1 Racing). The latter pair headed up a tight chasing pack, and used the slipstream wherever possible to get ahead.
Gasly in the end won comfortably from Luca Ghiotto, who returned to the podium after his victory at Spa-Francorchamps, and Nyck de Vries. Jake Dennis finished fourth, followed by Ignazio D’Agosto, Oliver Rowland and Egor Orudzhev. Gustav Malja (Josef Kaufmann Racing), meanwhile, secured his first points by finishing eighth, ahead of Esteban Ocon and William Vermont (ARTA Engineering).
What they said
Pierre Gasly: “It wasn’t the best start I’ve ever had, but I quickly gave myself a comfortable margin. Luca [Ghiotto] came back strongly at the end of the race, but I was able to control things. I’m pleased to win here, in France. A lot of people came out to support me, which makes the victory all the more rewarding.”
Luca Ghiotto: “At the start, I struggled to find a good rhythm and it was all too easy to make mistakes. I was quick at the end of the race, but it wasn’t enough to get close to Pierre and really trouble him. We’ll need to prepare for more challenging conditions if it rains tomorrow.”
Nyck de Vries: “I’m pleased to be on the podium again. Koiranen GP and I are on a run of six straight podiums in all competitions, and it’s a record we should be proud of. I hope this run will continue.”
Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 – provisional championship standings: 1. P. Gasly 162; 2. O. Rowland 146; 3. E. Ocon 103; 4. J. Dennis 100; 5. O. Tunjo 89 […]