Logan Sargeant made the best possible start to his rookie Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 Championship season with victory in race one at Circuit Paul Ricard on Saturday, with the young American getting the jump on polesitter Max Fewtrell into the first turn on lap one.
Starting on the front row after topping his group in Qualifying, the R-ace GP driver was in the lead by the time the field went into turn one, and despite some pressure from Fewtrell, the seventeen-year-old made no mistakes, and eventually he eased away to win by 1.887 seconds.
“This is literally the perfect start to the season!” said Sargeant on RenaultSport.com. “I knew that it wasn’t going to be an easy challenge to beat Max.
“I was a bit lucky he made a poor start, which let me take the lead. Then, I just had to make sure I handled the pressure, avoiding any mistake and not being overtaken. That’s the most important part about being a race driver!”
Sargaent had driven a Formula Renault 2.0 machine at Paul Ricard previously but the American admitted the level of driving in the category surpasses anything he has previously encountered, and it makes beating the opposition even more sweeter.
“Last year, I drove a Formula Renault here to gain experience,” said Sargeant. “It helped, but the racing level is much higher in the Eurocup. Nevertheless, I don’t think being a rookie is a bad thing at all.
“It makes me want to beat those with greater experience even more!”
Unfortunately for Sargeant, his Sunday race ended early when, whilst running behind the safety car, a gearbox gremlin struck while running third, and he was forced to pull off the track to retire, and with Fewtrell winning and Yifei Ye finishing second, he sits third in the championship heading into the second round of the season at the Autodromo Nazionale Monza this coming weekend.
