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| June 04, 2012 |
| Renault 3.5: Magnussen Becomes Fifth Different Winner |
 | Second-generation driver Kevin Magnussen overcame difficult wet conditions at Spa to score his first Formula Renault 3.5 Series win
(Photo: Renault) |
After claiming pole position for both of the weekend’s races at Circuit Spa-Francorchamps, Kevin Magnussen made his advantage count on Sunday (June 3), securing his first victory in the Formula Renault 3.5 Series. The son of ex-Formula One driver Jan Magnussen became the fifth different winner in five races so far this season. Nick Yelloly (Comtec Racing) and Robin Frijns (Fortec Motorsports), meanwhile, continued their strong starts to the season by finishing on the podium.
In both the rain and dry, Magnussen proved to be the fastest man in qualifying this weekend. The Dane, a member of the McLaren Development Programme, claimed his second consecutive pole position on a completely soaked track, ahead of Frijns. Sam Bird (ISR) was initially third, but was relegated to the back of the grid due to his car not having enough fuel for the post-qualifying technical tests.
As a result of the poor visibility and track conditions, the race started behind the safety car. When the green flag came out, Magnussen held on to his advantage from pole position and led the race ahead of Frijns, Jules Bianchi (Tech 1 Racing), Lewis Williamson (Arden Caterham) and Yelloly. The latter then took fourth place from Williamson, a member of Red Bull Junior Team.
Bird and Pic (Dams) were the first to make their compulsory visit to the pits to change tyres. The race leaders waited longer to make their stops. Magnussen held an advantage of just over five seconds over Frijns when he made his stop. However, Magnussen’s left-rear wheel proved problematic and he subsequently lost the lead. The Dane exited the pits behind Frijns, but then regained the lead after launching an unstoppable charge at the braking zone at Les Combes.
The safety car made another appearance following a spectacular collision between Richie Stanaway (Lotus) and Carlos Huertas (Fortec Motorsports). The race was then interrupted by the red flag before restarting behind the safety car. Bianchi, for his part, became stuck on the grid at the restart and fell to the bottom of the leaderboard.
At this stage, Magnussen found himself in fifth, but he was effectively the race leader as Williamson, American Jake Rosenzweig (ISR), Daniil Move (P1 Motorsport) and Kevin Korjus (Tech 1 Racing) still needed to make their pitstops. Frijns, meanwhile, was overtaken by Yelloly.
After resisting the challenge of Yelloly, Magnussen held on to the lead all the way to the chequered flag. Like his compatriot Marco Sorensen (Lotus) in day one, Magnussen recorded his first victory in the Formula Renault 3.5 Series. It was a job well done for Yelloly and Frijns, who finished on the podium to move up to third and second respectively in the overall standings. Bird, who came from the back of the grid to finish fifth, retains his lead in the Formula Renault 3.5 Series. Rosenzweig was 18th, while fellow American Alexander Rossi failed to finish, his race ending five laps prior to the checkered flag.
"I’ve had ups and downs this weekend," commented Magnussen. "It started well with my first pole, but in the first race we didn’t have the level of performance that we’d expected. This race was incredibly difficult. With the drivers not having made their stops, I didn’t really know if I was in the lead. The only negative was that we had a bad pitstop. Fortunately I managed to regain the advantage over Robin."
The Formula Renault 3.5 Series cars are next on track on June 30-July 1, at the Nurburgring.
The top-three, along with how the North American racers did, will be posted following every session on the EFCN Facebook page, and EFCN Twitter page.
Full Formula Renault 3.5 Series Race results available HERE |
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