30 mai 2015
Jake Hughes inherits pole on his birthday
For his 21st birthday, Jake Hughes (Koiranen GP) will be starting off in pole position in the Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 at Spa-Francorchamps. Ben Barnicoat (Fortec Motorsports) posted the best qualifying time and set a new lap record in the category, but lost his place on pole due to a penalty received at Motorland Aragón. The Racing Steps Foundation member and McLaren Young Driver Development Programme protégé will be lining up behind Jake Hughes, Ukyo Sasahara (ART Junior Team), Jack Aitken (Koiranen GP) and Anthoine Hubert (Tech 1 Racing) on the grid.
Group A - Ukyo Sasahara took the lead in Group A after the first qualifying group completed their laps. Ben Barnicoat managed to overtake the Japanese driver after posting a 2:16.729 lap. The Englishman edged out Ukyo Sasahara, Anthoine Hubert, overall standings leader Louis Delétraz (Josef Kaufmann Racing) and Ignazio D’Agosto (Manor MP Motorsport).
Group B - Both JD Motorsport drivers Thiago Vivacqua and Matevos Isaakyan took turns in the lead after the stoppage caused by Danylo Pronenko (BVM). Callan O’Keeffe (Fortec Motorsports) kicked off the final sprint with Jake Hughes at the lead just ahead of team-mate Jack Aitken. Callan O’Keeffe, Kevin Jörg (Josef Kaufmann Racing) and Matevos Isaakyan rounded out the pack.
The first Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 race at Spa-Francorchamps will start at 1.50pm.
Jake Hughes : "This pole came just in time for my birthday and it’s even my first in the Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0. It was tough with the red flag, but the team was excellent throughout the session. The start will surely be the most difficult, but we’re going to do our best to stay out in front for the first lap and then just see what happens."
