Formula Renault

EU 2.0: Series Le Mans qualifying report

Vergne, pole-sitter at Le Mans Like at Silverstone, Jean-Eric Vergne (SG Formula) takes both pole positions in Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0. He had to push all the way to contain Albert Costa (Epsilon Euskadi). The Spaniard will lie in ...

Published: Oct 2, 2009, 4:37 PM

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Vergne, pole-sitter at Le Mans

Like at Silverstone, Jean-Eric Vergne (SG Formula) takes both pole positions in Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0. He had to push all the way to contain Albert Costa (Epsilon Euskadi). The Spaniard will lie in ambush, sharing the front row in both this weekend's races. Arthur Pic (SG Formula) was also strong in qualifying, taking the third fastest time.

Group A:

The drivers held off for a few minutes before taking to the track in this 15 minute session. Arthur Pic set the first reference time, five minutes before the chequered flag, with a laptime of 1'36''658. Pic led from Jean-Eric Vergne and Marco Sorensen (Motopark Academy). Vergne was quick to unseat his team-mate, going under in 1'35''380. Adrian Quaife-Hobbs (Motopark Academy) and Kevin Magnussen (Motopark Academy) proceeded to slot in between Vergne and Pic, but Pic responded as the flag approached and moved back to second. Behind the two SG Formula drivers, third place finally fell Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 leader, Antonio Felix da Costa (Motopark Academy).

Group B:

Like the group A drivers before them, the group B drivers bided their time before going on the hunt for the quickest qualifying times. As a result, towards the end of the session the provisional race order was upset with every passing lap. Albert Costa got the better of the rest of the field, with a laptime of 1'35''388. Behind the Spaniard, the battle raged. Patrick Kronenberger (Iquick Valencia) was second for a short spell, but eventually finished in 6th. Behind Albert Costa, it was Nathanael Berthon (Epsilon Euskadi) who came out on top to take the second fastest time. He finished ahead of Carlos Munoz (Epsilon Euskadi), Ramez Azzam (SG Formula), Oliver Webb (Fortec Motorsport) and Patrick Kronenberger.

SuperPole:

All drivers quickly emerged, as spots of rain fell to welcome them on track for this SuperPole session. Albert Costa was wasting no time and immediately set the pace. But Antonio Felix da Costa showed he meant business too and took provisional pole position with a time of 1'36''377, before pitting to change tires. Meanwhile, the SG Formula drivers waited patiently in the pits.With his first flying lap, Jean-Eric Vergne, went to the top of the timing screens, in 1'35''682. A wave of improvements ensued, Antonio Felix da Costa reclaiming a very provisional pole position as Albert Costa took the lead back in 1'35''274. But as the chequered flag approached, Jean-Eric Vergne answered his rivals with the quickest laptime of the session, in 1'35''205. He took advantage of the turn of pace to claim the second best time as well, putting himself on pole for each race, ahead of Albert Costa. Arthur Pic also stood out, with his best performance to date in qualifying, to finish third.

Quote, unquote:

Jean-Eric Vergne: "I got a little stuck in my quickest lap, but I got concentrated again and I succeeded in grabbing both pole positions. It's close, now I need to set the car up effectively, to avoid the same problems I had at Silverstone."

Albert Costa: "I'm a bit disappointed. I made little errors and I didn't manage to be quicker than Jean-Eric. I want to win, I need to win, so I'm going to have to go on the attack in the races."

Arthur Pic: "I know this track well, that helped me and I'm very pleased with the result. Third and third at home, that's going to motivate me more than ever for the race. I've still a little way to go to be able to fight for the win, but I'll do everything to get my first podium."

-credit: wsr

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