Jorge Cevallos led home a MGR Motorsport one-two in Round Two of the 2013 Protyre Formula Renault Championship, one of the best Formula Renault races in Britain in recent memory.
While the Mexican led from lights to flag en-route to his first victory in the championship, it certainly wasn’t easy for him, with Cevallos leading an intense five-car battle for the lead.
It was Fortec Motorsport’s rookie Sam MacLeod who started the race from pole position, but a fantastic getaway for Cevallos saw him lead into Redgate for the first time, with MacLeod holding second through the opening lap, before being bundled down a few places at Coppice on lap two.
Cevallos was quickly joined in the lead battle by Weiron Tan and Joe Ghanem, with the latter duo soon embarking on a momentous duel, Ghanem finding his way past at Coppice on lap six. The Lebanese racer soon set his focus on the lead, making a number of challenges during the mid-part of the race.
The top three’s battles soon allowed another trio of cars to join their tail, with Round one winner Chris Middlehurst, Ivan Taranov and Jake Cook joining in the fun, their progress aided by a spin into the gravel for Tan at McLeans, the Malaysian retiring on the spot.
As spits of rain began to fall, Cevallos maintained the lead well, with Middlehurst making a move on Ghanem coming out of the Old Hairpin with two laps to go to take second, with Ghanem being forced back into fifth.
That move allowed Cevallos a relatively free run to the line to take victory, with Middlehurst second to secure himself the early championship lead. The fight for third went down to the wire, with Taranov just fending off Cook to complete the podium, the Russian bouncing back well after a race one retirement, setting the fastest lap of the race too.
In a truly epic race, the battles continued all the way down the field, with a particularly entertaining battle emerging for sixth behind Ghanem. Hongwei Cao took the spot from Matteo Ferrer, Matthew Rao, Pietro Fittipaldo and Tom Oliphant.
Mtech Lite pair Shahan Sarkissian and Edward Brand were next up, while pole-sitter MacLeod eventually had a race to forget, with a broken front wing forcing him to make a mid-race pitstop. Missing the race entirely meanwhile were Diego Menchaca and Wei Fung Thong, both of them having suffered extensive damage in the opening race.
A win and second place gives Middlehurst the early championship lead, with Cevallos and Ghanem tied for second in the standings.
Provisional Protyre Formula Renault Championship Standings (After Rd. 2 of 16):
1. Chris Middlehurst – 62pts
2= Jorge Cevallos – 42pts
2= Joe Ghanem – 42pts
4= Sam MacLeod – 36pts
4= Matteo Ferrer – 36pts
6. Hongwei Cao – 34pts
7. Jake Cook – 31pts
8. Matthew Rao – 28pts
9. Ivan Taranov – 27pts
10. Weiron Tan – 25pts
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The full race result can be found here: http://tsl-timing.com/barc/2013/131521bfr.pdf
