Sacha Fenestraz secured victory in race one at Hockenheim in a race that did not really get going after an early safety car and a mid-race red flag when it began to rain.
Just four laps were possible as a first lap tangle between Jehan Daruvala and Gabriel Aubry resulted in a safety car, before the red flags flew as rain began to fall.
Daruvala’s retirement ensured he fell out of the championship hunt, with the Josef Kaufmann Racing driver and his Tech 1 Racing rival appearing to disagree to whom was at fault as they collided at turn two just seconds after the start.
As the race headed into its second lap, rain began to fall, and the clerk of the course flew the red flags, with drivers returning to the grid to have wet tyres fitted. With the time available to run the race being relatively short, the clock never stopped, and by the time the race resumed the rain was falling heavier, and huge plumes of spray were evident from the cars and visibility was heavily compromised.
Fenestraz resumed in the lead and after one lap behind the safety car, the racing resumed, but despite a brief attack at turn two from Lando Norris, the Tech 1 Racing driver retained the lead, and when red flags flew again when conditions deteriorated further, he was able to claim his first Formula Renault 2.0 Northern European Cup victory.
Josef Kaufmann Racing racer Norris finished 0.400 seconds behind to edge closer to the title, while Max Defourny claimed the final spot on the podium for R-ace GP.
Bartlomiej Mirecki was classified fourth for the BM Racing Team despite being passed by Robert Shwartzman on the lap the final red flags flew, and with the race being declared at the end of the previous lap, the Polish driver was able to move back ahead of the Russian.
Aleksandr Vartanyan was an excellent sixth for Fortec Motorsports ahead of Julien Falchero, James Allen, Bruno Baptista and Henrique Chaves.
Hockenheim Race 1 Result
[table id=1548 /]
