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Grapevine: Vergne on the march in Rankings

The second round of the Formula Renault 3.5 Series on the Spa-Francorchamps circuit provided the big risers in the Castrol EDGE Rankings this weekend

Carlin drivers Jean-Eric Vergne and Robert Wickens took a win and a second place apiece. Frenchman Vergne, a Red Bull protege, therefore rises 11 places to 62nd, while Canadian Wickens is up 14 places to 92.

Vergne was already poised for a big rise. Although some of his British Formula 3 scores from last season were due to drop off his tally, due to last week's Bank Holiday Monday Oulton Park races, these were uncharacteristically low scores from a poor corresponding weekend last season.

The reigning British F3 champion therefore had a potentially big net score from Spa this weekend and did the business - second behind Wickens in the Saturday race, before dramatically taking the lead from his team-mate to win on Sunday.

Further up the Castrol EDGE Rankings, Bruno Spengler's excellent win in the opening round of the DTM at Hockenheim propels the Mercedes man up six places to 46th, but it was a bad weekend for team-mate Gary Paffett. The Englishman won the corresponding fixture last year but could only take sixth this time around, meaning he drops 10 places to number 66.

Elsewhere in the touring car world, Jamie Whincup got back on form in the Australian V8 Supercar round at Barbagallo, and the Triple Eight Holden driver rises eight Castrol EDGE Rankings places to 78th. Meanwhile, reigning British Touring Car champion Jason Plato managed to fend off the turbo cars in his Chevrolet Cruze in the reversed-grid race at Thruxton and has moved back into the top 200, up 16 at 194th.

Supporting the DTM at Hockenheim were the Formula 3 Euro Series boys, and race-winning Spaniard Roberto Merhi moves up 10 places to 95th. Reigning champion Edoardo Mortara is just one place above him - he has switched to the DTM with Audi but drops seven places to 94th after his series debut.

With the IndyCar race at Sao Paulo being abandoned on Sunday due to rain, the leading movers in the Castrol EDGE Rankings are those from the NASCAR Sprint Cup. Kyle Busch's win at Richmond moves him above Kevin Harvick to 11th, while Carl Edwards, who holds ninth, leaps into the lead of the EDGE Race for 2011 ahead of Formula 1 World Championship leader Sebastian Vettel.

To see the full Castrol Rankings and the latest positions in the Race for 2011, please visit www.castroldriverrankings.com.

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