Austin Formula V8 3.5: Orudzhev wins while Fittipaldi crashes
Egor Orudzhev played pit strategy to perfection as he took victory in the second Formula V8 3.5 race of the weekend at Austin, while championship leader Pietro Fittipaldi crashed out
SMP Racing/AVF driver Orudzhev was on the offensive from the start as he went round the outside of Fittipaldi at Turn 1 to claim second place and put pressure on polesitter Alex Palou.
The Teo Martin Motorsport driver kept his lead during the opening stages of the 40-minute race with Orudzhev happy to wait for an opportunity to pass Palou rather than pushing his tyres too hard.
Fittipaldi, who came into the second race with an 18-point lead in the championship, tried to challenge Orudzhev in the early running but he locked his brakes going into Turn 1, ran through the gravel and hit the barrier.
At the front of the field, Palou pitted with 27 minutes still remaining but Orudzhev waited until the halfway mark to make his own mandatory stop and his quicker in-lap allowed him to come out 0.1 seconds ahead.
Palou did try to pressure Orudzhev into making a mistake but he absorbed the pressure and started to build a gap that extended to 5.4s by the chequered flag.
Behind the lead pair Diego Menchaca claimed his first podium of the season, his Fortec car having had an engine change overnight after being down on power in race one.
Menchaca was behind championship contender Matevos Isaakyan going into the final 10 minutes, but a great outbraking move at the end of the back-straight gave him third place.
The race got worse for Isaakyan, who was looking to take advantage of Fittipaldi's retirement to close the gap in the championship, as he outbraked himself at the end of the long back straight on the penultimate lap and allowed Roy Nissany to move up to fourth.
Isaakyan then tangled with Konstantin Tereschenko and fell to sixth, with Alfonso Celis Jr moving up to fifth.
Tereschenko, who damaged his car in the incident, fell to seventh ahead of Yu Kanamaru.
Race one winner Rene Binder finishing a lap down in 10th, behind Giuseppe Cipriani, after his car's engine stalled as the grid set off on the formation lap.
Race two result
| Pos | Driver | Team | Laps | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Egor Orudzhev | SMP Racing by AVF | 23 | 43m42.573s |
| 2 | Alex Palou | Teo Martin Motorsport | 23 | 5.418s |
| 3 | Diego Menchaca | Fortec Motorsports | 23 | 22.194s |
| 4 | Roy Nissany | RP Motorsport | 23 | 42.044s |
| 5 | Alfonso Celis | Fortec Motorsports | 23 | 45.063s |
| 6 | Matevos Isaakyan | SMP Racing by AVF | 23 | 52.896s |
| 7 | Yu Kanamaru | RP Motorsport | 23 | 1m48.790s |
| 8 | Konstantin Tereschenko | Teo Martin Motorsport | 23 | 2m01.104s |
| 9 | Giuseppe Cipriani | Il Barone Rampante | 22 | 1 Lap |
| 10 | Rene Binder | Lotus | 22 | 1 Lap |
| - | Pietro Fittipaldi | Lotus | 3 | Retirement |
Drivers' standings
| Pos | Driver | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pietro Fittipaldi | 223 |
| 2 | Matevos Isaakyan | 213 |
| 3 | Egor Orudzhev | 198 |
| 4 | Alfonso Celis | 192 |
| 5 | Rene Binder | 174 |
| 6 | Roy Nissany | 174 |
| 7 | Yu Kanamaru | 95 |
| 8 | Konstantin Tereschenko | 88 |
| 9 | Diego Menchaca | 84 |
| 10 | Alex Palou | 68 |
| 11 | Nelson Mason | 42 |
| 12 | Damiano Fioravanti | 36 |
| 13 | Giuseppe Cipriani | 21 |
Previous article
Austin Formula V8 3.5: Rene Binder dominates opener for Lotus
Next article
Brake failure caused Formula V8 3.5 leader Fittipaldi's crash
How the post-Renault 3.5 series is shaping up
When Renault ended its support of its 3.5 Formula, there were fears about the category's future. But as PETER MILLS explains, the rebadged FV8 3.5 series has retained an appeal to drivers
The all-time FR3.5 top 10
An era ended in 2015 as Renault withdrew its backing of Formula Renault 3.5. GLENN FREEMAN and PETER MILLS pick the 10 best drivers from the World Series by Renault years
The top 10 FR3.5 drivers of 2015
The 2015 Formula Renault 3.5 season will be notable for being the last with the French company's backing but also produced a worthy champion in Oliver Rowland. PETER MILLS evaluates this year's crop of drivers
Renault's ladder to Formula 1
Since 2005 the World Series by Renault package has launched a host of young stars on the path to Formula 1. But there's much more to the events, both on and off the track
The top 10 FR3.5 drivers of 2014
The field was perhaps not as strong as in the previous season, but Carlos Sainz Jr emerged as a worthy Formula Renault 3.5 champion. GLENN FREEMAN rates the top 2014 drivers
The top 10 FR3.5 drivers of 2013
There were some standout performances in the Formula Renault 3.5 title race this year, but one racer stood above all the others. GLENN FREEMAN looks back and picks out his top 10 drivers
The 2013 Formula Renault 3.5 grid guide
Last year's field was extraordinary and hard to match, but the Formula Renault 3.5 grid will still have plenty of talent this season. Glenn Freeman runs through the field ahead of this weekend's season opener
Vandoorne: future McLaren F1 star?
Landing the Fortec seat that took rising star Robin Frijns to the 2012 FR3.5 title was already a good sign for Stoffel Vandoorne. Then McLaren took him under its wing. Peter Mills tells Vandoorne's story so far
