Alex Riberas strikes a first blow…

The heat in Budapest did little to help cool the ardors of the drivers in the Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0. If Manor Competition’s Will Stevens was the star of the morning session, it was Epsilon Euskadi’s Alex Riberas who gave the best performance of the day, shortly before crashing out… At just 16, the Young Spaniard tested the limits of a circuit new to him, leading Korainen Bros Motorsport’s Miki Weckstrom and Kevin Korjus.

By 9am it was already sweltering at the Hungaroring circuit as the 27 Formula Renault 2.0 drivers hit the track for the first collective testing session of the day. Several of the competition had come along to swell the ranks of Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 at this round. Absent since Spa-Francorchamps due to having to sit his university exams, MP Motorsport’s Karl Oscar Liiv made a welcome return, while Manor Competition was represented by Will Stevens. Atech Grand Prix’s Tamas Pal Kiss, the Young Hungarian hopeful and current leader of Formula Renault 2.0 UK, was also on the scene with teammates Nick Yelloly and Marlon Stockinger. Finally, Team Firstair were on display with Russian and Indonesian drivers Ivan Lukashevich and Rio Haryanto.

The first session was highly charged at the start. Grip on the track kept getting better and better as time went on, and the times improved with it. Miki Weckstrom and Will Stevens were the two drivers to stand out during the opening minutes. But a quarter of an hour into the session, Tech 1 Racing’s Aaro Vainio took things in hand. With a lap time of 1’46’’744, he grabbed provisional first place. It was only at the very end of the session that Will Stevens was able to go one better with a time of 1’46’’667. The Brit finished the morning leading Aaro Vainio, Koiranen Bros Motorsport’s Bart Hylkema, Epsilon Euskadi’s Genis Olivé and Tech 1 Racing’s Arthur Pic.

From the opening minutes of the second session, Kevin Korjus was the first to make an impression, and the first to better Will Steven’s time to beat from earlier in the day. The leader of the Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 slowly began to take apart the opposition, starting with Aaro Vainio and Epsilon Euskadi’s Giovanni Venturini, before taking on Tamas Pal Kiss. With a time of 1’45’’232, the Hungarian spent a long time in second.

But it was only in the last few minutes that things really took off. The Koiranen Bros Motorsport drivers, Miki Weckstrom and Kevin Korjus, went on the offensive and claimed the top of the leaderboard. Undeterred, Alex Riberas claimed the best time of the day in 1’44’’683, immediately before crashing out and bringing out the red flag. Nevertheless, the young Spaniard holds on to his time, finishing the day as leader to Miki Weckstrom and Kevin Korjus.

Quote, unquote:

Alex Riberas : “This is my first time on the circuit, but it feels good. I took a few risks during the second session. I came out of the chicane a bit fast and lost the car. I’m happy to have set the fastest. That said, I’m a little disappointed to have crashed. On the other hand, I made that error today and I’m not going to do the same again tomorrow. Collective Testing is for testing after all, right?”

Luciano Bacheta : “It really wasn’t happening for me this morning. The car wasn’t right, I wasn’t driving well and the results weren’t good. We made a lot of changes for the second session and it’s running much better. Now I need a pole and a win so I can enjoy the summer without having to worry too much.”

Will Stevens : “There’s a long break for the British Formula Renault 2.0 Championship so this race comes at just the right time. It’s always good to drive as much as possible. I’m under no pressure here, but I’m still in the race to win. Everything went very well this morning. During the second session, I put new tires on just in time for the red flag, so my time didn’t count for much.”