Soucek storms to victory at Donington Park
Spaniard extends points lead after crushing race one win
Spaniard Andy Soucek has extended his lead in the 2009 FIA
Formula Two Championship after taking a brilliant win at Donington
Park in race one this morning (Sunday). He becomes the first
driver to achieve three race victories this season.
Starting from third on the grid, Soucek made a fantastic getaway
to lead into the first corner, whilst polesitter Tobias Hegewald
dropped down to third behind Mikhail Aleshin. Soucek continued to
pull a gap on his rivals behind, setting his fastest lap towards
the end of the race, which he went on to win comfortably by nearly
ten seconds.
"This was the kind of race you dream about - it was perfect,"
said Soucek. "From the start I hit the boost at just the right
moment and in the right place, and it was fantastic - I don't think
I will be able to repeat such a start many times. I'm really
pleased, particularly for my mechanic who did a fantastic job
repairing my car after my crash yesterday and it was just
perfect.
"I was just amazed that every lap I saw my times and they were
exactly the same. My rhythm was very consistent which is the most
important thing in a race, so I'm really happy."
Whilst Soucek was never challenged, there was action throughout
the field behind him, with Aleshin, Hegewald and Miloš
Pavlović enjoying a race-long scrap for second place. Aleshin
absorbed the pressure and held on to claim 8 points, whilst
Pavlović managed to pass Hegewald on lap 20 going into the
Fogerty Esses, only to suddenly slow and retire two laps later.
"Tobias gave me a hard time during the race," said
Aleshin. "I was on the limit basically on every corner and
just saw Tobias coming closer and closer. I was pretty surprised at
the start - I was probably still in first gear and Andy came past
me! I had a good start, but probably not as good as Andy - second
place is still good though."
Edoardo Piscopo took a strong fourth place, with Philipp Eng in
fifth. Sebastian Hohenthal and Julien Jousse recovered to sixth and
seventh after dropping down the order following an earlier
collision at Goddards, whilst Armaan Ebrahim took the final point
in eighth.
Jack Clarke slipped to ninth after losing time during an off at
Redgate, but the Englishman still enjoyed one of this strongest
drives of the season, having been running in a points paying
position from 13th on the grid. Mirko Bortolotti rounded out the
top ten after he eventually passed Jason Moore on the Dunlop
Straight - the pair having endured a titanic battle
throughout.
Canadian Robert Wickens dropped through the field after a
technical problem and retired, whilst Nicola De Marco and Jens
Höing were eliminated following a lap one collision. Jolyon
Palmer, Henri Karjalainen and Carlos Iaconelli came together in
dramatic style on lap 17, damaging all three cars. Palmer had
seemingly shown enough of his car down the inside of Iaconelli at
the Fogerty Esses, but the Brazilian turned in and heavy contact
was made. As a result, Karjalainen had nowhere to go and he
made contact with the rear of Palmer's car.
Alex Brundle recovered from a spin after a close moment with
Henri Karjalainen at Coppice, whilst Pietro Gandolfi retired
following a double spin at the Fogerty Esses and
Goddards.
Race 1 Provisional Results:
1. Andy Soucek, 25 laps
2. Mikhail Aleshin, +9.799s
3. Tobias Hegewald, +11.976s
4. Edoardo Piscopo, +12.848s
5. Philipp Eng, +14.056s
6. Sebastian Hohenthal, +15.760s
7. Julien Jousse, +16.289s
8. Armann Ebrahim, +29,596s
9. Jack Clarke, + 39.739s
10. Mirko Bortolotti, +41.514s
More to follow...