Pentus wins Hungaroring race two
Sten Pentus scored his second victory of the Formula Renault 3.5 season at the Hungaroring to move into third place in the drivers' standings
The polesitter was in control throughout, only losing the lead during the mandatory pitstop sequence.
The race was red-flagged on lap 26 when Brendon Hartley's Tech 1 machine stopped in a dangerous position at Turn 3. The result was declared after 24 laps, with Pentus holding a 6.2-second winning margin over front row starter Albert Costa. The Epsilon Euskadi driver's second position is his best result of the year.
Fortec's Pentus had held a 3.5s lead over Costa when the Spaniard made an early pit call on lap five. Although the gap was reduced to just over a second when Pentus emerged from his own stop on lap eight, the Estonian was once more able to pull away.
"It was easier out in front today rather than following someone," said Pentus. "Yesterday, I saw that Hartley was so much quicker than me and I wanted to find out why. We analysed the data and found it. I've had a difficult couple of months, and it has taken time for everything to stand up again."
Mikhail Aleshin fought off a determined challenge from Daniel Zampieri (Pons) to seal third place. The Carlin driver has extended his lead in the championship to 11 points over race one winner Daniel Ricciardo, who could only manage sixth place for Tech 1 today.
From fourth on the grid, Greg Mansell negotiated the first two corners in attacking fashion to rise to third. The Comtec man was chased by Aleshin and Zampieri in the early laps, before opting for a late pitstop strategy. Aleshin jumped Mansell during the pitstop phase, while Zampieri took fourth after finding an opening on lap 20. Fifth place equals Mansell's highest finish of the season.
Mansell's Comtec team-mate Stefano Coletti ran in sixth place in the initial stages, but lost ground after his pitstop. Coletti survived a late-race collision at Turn 2 with Renault Formula 1 reserve driver Jan Charouz to pick up the final point. Charouz suffered a left rear puncture in the incident.
Jon Lancaster's difficult spell continued. The Fortec driver was unable to get away from the grid for the second meeting in succession, but would eventually set the second fastest lap.
Formula Renault 3.5 now enjoys a long summer break before the next round at Hockenheim on September 4-5.
Pos Driver Team Time/Gap 1. Sten Pentus Fortec 39m00.851s 2. Albert Costa Epsilon Euskadi + 6.292s 3. Mikhail Aleshin Carlin + 8.921s 4. Daniel Zampieri Pons + 9.489s 5. Greg Mansell Comtec + 11.233s 6. Daniel Ricciardo Tech 1 + 13.990s 7. Anton Nebylitskiy KMP + 14.523s 8. Jake Rosenzweig Carlin + 29.197s 9. Brendon Hartley Tech 1 + 29.539s 10. Stefano Coletti Comtec + 35.143s 11. Walter Grubmuller P1 + 36.888s 12. Nelson Panciatici Junior Lotus + 39.396s 13. Nathanael Berthon Draco + 40.189s 14. Daniil Move Junior Lotus + 40.838s 15. Keisuke Kunimoto Epsilon Euskadi + 41.344s 16. Julian Leal Draco + 42.180s 17. Federico Leo Pons + 43.381s 18. Victor Garcia KMP + 43.834s 19. Bruno Mendez FHV Interwetten + 1m04.608s 20. Sergio Canamasas FHV Interwetten + 1m05.364s 21. Jan Charouz P1 + 1m12.357s 22. Jon Lancaster Fortec + 3 laps
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