Home Z - Archive seriesFormula Renault 2.0FR2.0 NEC Dominant Deletraz wins first NEC race at Silverstone

Dominant Deletraz wins first NEC race at Silverstone

by Valentin Khorounzhiy
Photo: Paul Davies Photography

Photo: Paul Davies Photography

Josef Kaufmann Racing’s Louis Deletraz maintained his status as the class of the Formula Renault NEC field at Silverstone, easing to victory in race one.

Having controlled both practice and both qualifying sessions, Deletraz led lights-to-flag to record his fourth victory in six Formula Renault 2.0 outings in 2015.

While his starts let him down at Monza, the JKR protege was smooth off the line here, already enjoying a solid gap to the rest into turn one.

Right behind him, Callan O’Keeffe looked to pass championship leader Ukyo Sasahara, forcing the Japanese driver to take very defensive lines over the opening lap and allowing Deletraz to disappear in the distance.

The Swiss driver amassed a three-second lead over just one lap and turned it into four and a half next time by.

While Sasahara held off O’Keeffe, his teammate Darius Oskoui had a good look at the South African but ultimately allowed Dennis Olsen through into fourth instead.

It was a very calm race after that, with the leading drivers keeping each other at a distance and Deletraz coasting out front.

Sasahara ramped up the pace closer to the end to clear O’Keeffe and finish a comfortable second, while the South African settled for his first NEC podium of 2015.

Olsen took fourth, ahead of top rookie Oskoui and Harrison Scott, who marked his debut in the NEC series with sixth.

Ignazio D’Agosto passed Kevin Jorg to take seventh, while Colin Noble held off compatriot and second-best rookie Alex Gill to finish ninth.

Race results
Pos. Driver Team Time/Gap
1 Louis Deletraz Josef Kaufmann Racing 13 laps in 26:01.518
2 Ukyo Sasahara ART Junior Team +3.401
3 Callan O’Keeffe Fortec Motorsport +8.567
4 Dennis Olsen Manor MP Motorsport +11.207
5 Darius Oskoui ART Junior Team +13.801
6 Harrison Scott AVF +17.551
7 Ignazio D’Agosto Manor MP Motorsport +19.385
8 Kevin Jorg Josef Kaufmann Racing +19.744
9 Colin Noble MGR Motorsport +25.120
10 Alex Gill Fortec Motorsport +26.452
11 Henrique Chaves AVF +28.814
12 Josef Zaruba AVF +29.766
13 Charlie Eastwood Fortec Motorsport +31.277
14 Nikita Mazepin Josef Kaufmann Racing +43.055
15 Robin Hansson Fragus BR Motorsport +43.122
16 Jehan Daruvala Fortec Motorsport +43.459
17 Dries Vanthoor Josef Kaufmann Racing +43.912
18 Ferdinand Habsburg Fortec Motorsport +44.147
19 Luke Chudleigh Fortec Motorsport +45.667
20 Zac Claman DeMelo Fortec Motorsport +45.854
21 Pontus Fredericsson Prizma Motorsport +48.298
22 Bartlomiej Mirecki BM Racing +49.060
23 Rahul Raj Mayer Mark Burdett Motorsport +52.965
24 David Richert Inter Europol Competition +1:43.634
Not classified
Max Defourny ART Junior Team +7 laps