EU 2.0: Series Catalunya race 2 report

Kevin Korjus finishes in style

Koiranen Bros Motorsport's Kevin Korjus celebrated in style at Barcelona today after adding two pole positions and two wins to his championship title. With nine wins, eleven podium finishes and six pole positions, the Estonian's statistics this season speak for themselves. Epsilon Euskadi's Giovanni Venturini and Korjus' teammate Bart Hylkema completed the final podium of the season.

The rain in Spain did little to dampen anyone's spirits at Barcelona for the last race of the season. The winner of the Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0, lined up for his final race in the class in front of Tech 1 Racing's Carlos Sainz Junior and Epsilon Euskadi's Alex Riberas.

Kevin Korjus made a perfect start, managing to avoid the various pitfalls on lap one. Carlos Sainz Junior also held his place, while Giovanni Venturini had climbed up from seventh to third place by the end of the first lap. Aaro Vainio did the reverse, sliding back down the pack to fifth. The real action today was played out between Arthur Pic and Luciano Bacheta for the honour of the runner-up place. Starting from ninth place, the Brit managed to get past the Frenchman and into eighth place.

While Kevin Korjus looked well at ease up front, the action was intense behind him. Carlos Sainz Junior lost control of his car and found himself on the grass, which Giovanni Venturini, Bart Hylkema and Aaro Vainio were quick to take advantage. As all this was happening, Korjus had increased his lead over Giovanni Venturini to more than eight seconds. Third, Bart Hylkema was starting to feel the pressure from Aaro Vainio. But the Finn lost control of his car, to finish his season in a gravel trap.

The question over who would be runner-up in this year's Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 was cleared up on lap six when the Tech 1 Racing driver overtook Bacheta to snatch sixth-place. Arthur Pic then set about Tech 1 Racing's Carlos Sainz Junior but a slippery track meant the Spaniard overshot at the chicane and fell back to eighth place. He was handed a drive-through penalty, but his failure to respect it resulted in his exclusion from the race.

Nothing short of majestic, Kevin Korjus ended his Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 career with a ninth victory. The Estonian, who must now prepare for new adventures, shared the podium today with Giovanni Venturini and Bart Hylkema. In its first season in the class, Tech 1 Racing claims the Teams title, while Luciano Bacheta finishes as runner-up in the Championship and Arthur Pic third.

Quote, unquote :

Kevin Korjus : "This weekend has been the perfect end to the season. I'm especially happy to have won in the rain, because it's not my strong suit. This season has been perfect. I'm still not sure what the future has in store for me. I'm only 17 so it's a tough choice. We're going to decide in the coming weeks whether to race in Formula Renault 3.5 Series or Formula 3."

Giovanni Venturini : "I won at Magny-Cours in the rain, so I'm happy to have finished my season on the podium again in the rain. It really was hard trying to stay on the track towards the end, it was absolutely drenched!"

Bart Hylkema : "The first few laps were difficult. It was so easy to spin out. I didn't make any mistakes and I profited from Carloz Sainz Junior. It's great to finish the year this way. Now I need to prepare for 2011. I still don't know what class I'll be racing in though."

-source: renault sport