Curitiba: Racing Engineering report

Two podiums for Racing Engineering in Brazil.

The eighth meeting of the World Series by Nissan Championship took place this weekend in Curitiba, Brazil. Both Racing Engineering drivers achieved a podium despite unsatisfying qualifications for each. The first race saw Justin Wilson on the podium in third place and Franck Montagny in sixth place. In the second race Franck climbed the podium with a second place and Justin finished fourth.

The first qualifying session on Saturday saw Franck Montagny forced off the circuit into the grass causing the partial blockage of his radiator and a drop in performance making him qualify last in 12th position. Meanwhile Justin was able to qualify in 5th position. The second qualification had Franck in 4th position and Justin in 12th.

Race 1:
The first race was held under dry conditions and was marked by great starts for both Franck and Justin. Having started in 12th position, Franck was able to climb to 8th position in the first lap alone. He then continued the fight to finish the race in 6th place. Justin who started in 5th position put up a great fight and was able to climb and finish in 3rd place and on the podium.

Race 2:
The start of the second race was marked by a very heavy downpour of rain, which had both drivers switch to rain tires. The rain stopped as drastically as it had begun only a couple of laps later. Franck who had started in fourth position climbed quickly to 2nd place but stopped to change back to slick tires at the 7th lap. Franck was able to conserve his 2nd place behind Zonta despite very aggressive attacks from Leinders behind him and finished the race in second place on the podium. Justin for his part had a very good start in the rain and climbed from his 12th position to 8th in the first lap alone. He continued his impressive climb in the rain to 6th position in the second lap and up to 3rd position in the eighth lap when he also made his tire change. Justin reentered in 4th place and maintained that place till the end of the race.

The results of this weekend have been satisfying for Racing Engineering, which maintains its place as the leader in the Team Championship and both Franck Montagny and Justin Wilson have widened their leads in second and fourth position respectively.

-www.racing-engineering.com