Ben Barnicoat secured his second Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 Series victory in as many races as he took advantage of the battle between Kevin Jörg and Louis Deletraz to win race one around the Bugatti circuit of Le Mans on Saturday.
Josef Kaufmann Racing duo Jörg and Deletraz were battling for the lead on the opening lap when Deletraz cut the chicane and rejoined ahead of Jörg, only to slow to allow his Swiss team-mate back through into the lead, only for Fortec Motorsports’ Barnicoat to sweep past the pair of them.
Barnicoat was unable to shake off the challenge of Jörg throughout the race, finishing just 1.456s ahead, but Deletraz dropped back and although held on for the podium, was forced to hold off the challenge of Koiranen GP’s Jack Aitken and ART Junior Team’s Ukyo Sasahara until the chequered flag.
Frenchman Anthoine Hubert took sixth for Tech 1 Racing having passed Manor MP Motorsport’s Dennis Olsen, while the Norwegian driver’s team-mate Ignazio D’Agosto claimed eighth.
Valentin Hasse-Clot secured his first points of the season with ninth for Fortec Motorsports, with his team-mate Martin Kodric claiming the final point in tenth.
Deletraz still retains the lead in the championship, but now only holds a two-point advantage over Jörg, while Aitken is a further nine points back in third. It was a bad day in the office for another of the championship contenders Jake Hughes however, with the Briton retiring after losing a wheel while running in the top ten.
Le Mans Race 1 Result
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