Hartley back to winning ways
Winner of both races at Zolder, Brendon Hartley (Red Bull Epsilon) rediscovered his Midas touch at the Hungaroring. The New Zealander dominated the race, whilst runner-up Jon Lancaster (SG Formula) and third-placed Mihai Marinescu (District Racing) both had great races to finish on the Eurocup podium for the first time.
Polesitter Jules
Bianchi (SG
Formula) made a pig’s ear of his start and was overtaken by
both
Brendon Hartley and Jaime Alguersuari (Red Bull Epsilon). Just behind
these two, Nelson Panciatici (SG Formula) ran into the back of
Alguersuari at the first corner. Jules Bianchi and Markus Niemela (BVM
Minardi) were other drivers who got caught up in this incident.
As the safety car came out onto the track, Hartley completed the first lap in the lead, ahead of Mihai Marinescu, Jon Lancaster, Frank Kechele (Motopark Academy), Henki Waldschmidt (Prema Power Team), Roberto Merhi, Oliver Turvey (Jenzer Motorsport), Charles Pic (SG Formula), Fabio Onidi (Motorsport Arena) and Aleix Alcaraz (District Racing).
Racing resumed at the end of lap 4. Marinescu locked his wheels at the end of the start-finish straight, opening the way for Lancaster to get past. In the main field, Turvey overtook Merhi and Caldarelli moved into the top 10 ahead of Alcaraz.
At the start of lap 7, Merhi span at the end of the start-finish straight, rejoining in a lowly 20th position. At the front, Hartley had built up a four-second cushion over Lancaster. A few lengths back, Marinescu and Kechele were scrapping it out for third.
Francesc Moreno (Omicron Racing) then added his name to the list of retirements after crashing off the tricky corner no. 4. Not long afterwards, his team-mate Tiago Petiz also went off the track! The on-track acrobatics just kept coming: Nicola Zonzini (Cram Compétition) ran into the gravel, while Tobias Hegewald (Motorsport Arena) struggled to keep his single-seater on the track.
Aleix Alcaraz was clearly struggling to stay in the top 10: Mika Mäki and Oliver Oakes both moved past him with two laps to go.
Brendon Hartley: "It was an interesting race. I had a good start, which meant I was able to get through the first corner in the lead. It is a shame that the drivers just behind me clashed. I was particularly disappointed for my team-mate Jaime.”
Jon Lancaster: “I am getting better with each race – this first podium finish is a fantastic result for me. The weekend got off to a good start with good a test session on Friday. I managed to take that good form into qualifying. I was third at the first corner and I was able to take advantage of Mihai’s error to grab second place.”
Mihai Marinescu: “I have wanted to finish on the podium for the last few races, so this is a great result for me and the team. I hope I can reproduce this kind of performance on a regular basis between now and the end of the year.”
As the safety car came out onto the track, Hartley completed the first lap in the lead, ahead of Mihai Marinescu, Jon Lancaster, Frank Kechele (Motopark Academy), Henki Waldschmidt (Prema Power Team), Roberto Merhi, Oliver Turvey (Jenzer Motorsport), Charles Pic (SG Formula), Fabio Onidi (Motorsport Arena) and Aleix Alcaraz (District Racing).
Racing resumed at the end of lap 4. Marinescu locked his wheels at the end of the start-finish straight, opening the way for Lancaster to get past. In the main field, Turvey overtook Merhi and Caldarelli moved into the top 10 ahead of Alcaraz.
At the start of lap 7, Merhi span at the end of the start-finish straight, rejoining in a lowly 20th position. At the front, Hartley had built up a four-second cushion over Lancaster. A few lengths back, Marinescu and Kechele were scrapping it out for third.
Francesc Moreno (Omicron Racing) then added his name to the list of retirements after crashing off the tricky corner no. 4. Not long afterwards, his team-mate Tiago Petiz also went off the track! The on-track acrobatics just kept coming: Nicola Zonzini (Cram Compétition) ran into the gravel, while Tobias Hegewald (Motorsport Arena) struggled to keep his single-seater on the track.
Aleix Alcaraz was clearly struggling to stay in the top 10: Mika Mäki and Oliver Oakes both moved past him with two laps to go.
Brendon Hartley: "It was an interesting race. I had a good start, which meant I was able to get through the first corner in the lead. It is a shame that the drivers just behind me clashed. I was particularly disappointed for my team-mate Jaime.”
Jon Lancaster: “I am getting better with each race – this first podium finish is a fantastic result for me. The weekend got off to a good start with good a test session on Friday. I managed to take that good form into qualifying. I was third at the first corner and I was able to take advantage of Mihai’s error to grab second place.”
Mihai Marinescu: “I have wanted to finish on the podium for the last few races, so this is a great result for me and the team. I hope I can reproduce this kind of performance on a regular basis between now and the end of the year.”
