Top six championship finish for Stevens and Strakka Racing in World Series by Renault
Stevens ends Formula Renault 3.5 season sixth in the championship with team-mate Laine 13th overall – Strakka Racing nets sixth in team standings. Jake Hughes scores strong top eight finish in Wildcard Formula Renault two litre category
After taking its second Formula Renault 3.5 Series victory of 2014 on Saturday, Strakka Racing's Will Stevens and Matias Laine were unable to make it two in a row after both team mates were hit with costly drive-through penalties after their mandatory pit-stops. A tangle with Jazeman Jaafar just after mid-distance ultimately resulted in retirement for Laine who had shown superb pace, with the fastest sector two time of the race.
Profiting from the demise of his team-mate and Jaafar, Stevens moved up into 13th position and remained there to the flag after seeing off the attention of Zoel Amberg. “After the fantastic day we had yesterday, it’s a shame we couldn't do the double,” said Stevens, “The race pace was looking really good and we pitted early. The drive-through was very close I’m sure but rules are rules! Let’s remember yesterday and the pace we showed in qualifying and the race.”
Sunday qualifying for round 17 left Stevens – who secured pole position on Saturday – having to settle for 13th on the grid and Laine in 16th. The Finn made a stellar start and gained no fewer than five positions as he surged into 11th place, just a few tenths of a second outside the points-paying top 10.
Stevens, who slipped to 16th place on the opening lap, was the first of the Strakka drivers to stop at the end of lap five as soon as the ‘pit window’ opened while Laine made his pit visit on lap seven.With both drivers adjudged by race officials to have exceeded the pitlane speed limit, each incurred drive-through penalties with Stevens taking his at the end of the eighth tour and Laine pitting to serve his penalty one lap later. When the race order settled down, Laine held 14th position with Stevens just behind but on lap 15 the Finn was tagged by Jaafar while challenging for 13th place and both ended up in the gravel. Following a brief Safety Car period the race resumed on lap 19 with Stevens in an elevated 13th place where he remained to the chequered flag.
“The race pace today was amazing, fastest in sector two and going really well," said Laine. "It was such a shame about the drive-through, I think I must have released the [speed limiter] button a tiny bit early. In the end, Jaafar touched me as I passed him but it was a racing incident.”
In the final race of the supporting Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 season, Jake Hughes lined-up ninth on the grid for today's race after a competitive running in practice and qualifying and bounced back from his enforced non-finish on Saturday to take away a strong top eight result in the new category for Strakka. Making a good getaway from the fifth row of the grid, the Briton moved into eighth place at the first corner and spent the 15-lap duration bottled up behind Dennis Olsen.The Safety Car did interrupt proceedings for three laps early on but with the front-running drivers so evenly matched, overtaking opportunities were almost non-existent and the group covering fourth to ninth places ran line astern throughout.
"It's great to get another win in the FR3.5 category this year and good to go into the winter break with that victory fresh in everyone's mind," said team principal Dan Walmsley. "We've also demonstrated that after just a handful of races, Strakka has quickly got to grips with the FR2.0 cars, putting us in a very strong position for a run at that championship in 2015."
Press Contact
Nick Bailey, 44 (0) 7813 956664
From early domestic campaigns with BMWs and Aston Martins, Strakka Racing has evolved to become one of the most respected and successful privateer teams in the World Endurance Championship. In 2010 the Silverstone-based team achieved a class win, five circuit records and fifth overall in the iconic Le Mans 24 Hours. Ever developing, in 2013 Strakka Racing entered the Formula Renault 3.5 litre World Series single seater championship, regarded as one of the best training grounds before F1. In 2014 Strakka Racing joins forces with esteemed Japanese chassis manufacturer DOME to develop, market and race the Strakka DOME S103 LMP2 chassis. Alongside the racing teams, it also runs Strakka Performance, providing professional racing drivers with bespoke programmes aimed at enhancing their on-track performance with dedicated track time and coaching in World Series by Renault cars. It has also created Zanardi Strakka Kart racing team and a Formula Renault 2.0 team, putting in place the building blocks to enable racing drivers to develop and refine their skills right from the start of their career, with a support infrastructure that goes beyond any typical racing team.
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