Motorsports Mondial
World Series by Renault at the Nürburgring
Photo. World Series by Renault Media
Wet and wild by Wickens. Heavy downpour before race start provided dramatic duel between the top contenders. Canadian Ace Robert Wickens started from his third pole of the season, and Alexander Rossi made it a North American front row by qualifying second.
Wickens led at the start while Rossi struggled with a slow start. Race leader was then reeled in by Daniel Ricciardo, the Australian grabbing the lead at the Veedol chicane. The top two positions would change again when Ricciardo ran wide at Turn 1.
Two other race winners and championship hopefuls, Rossi and Frenchman Jean-Eric Vergne, went wheel to wheel and before the opening lap was over, so was their race. Safety car was deployed as Rossi’s Fortec and Vergne’s Carlin cars were cleared.
At the re-start Ricciardo again raced to the front, he and Wickens widening the gap over rest of the field. On lap 14 more rain and slippery conditions forced Ricciardo into a small mistake going into Veedol and that was all Wickens wanted, the Carlin star passed the ISR machine, then held off a strong challenge from Ricciardo to take his second win of the season.
Photo. World Series by Renault Media
The Toronto native was elated and said, “The final result is fantastic, but it was one heck of a battle. I took risks and my overtaking in the rain was rather daring, but it had to be done. I’m happy with the victory and the points that go with it. It’s a win that really counts.”
Kevin Korjus of Estonia was a distant third, over 22 seconds behind, in his Tech 1 entry.
Jake Rosenzweig, the only other American in the race, was 10th.
Brendon Hartley from New Zealand recorded the fastest time on the 11th of 23 laps but finished in a disappointing 14th place.
— Nasir Hameed
Greetings and Nordschleife regards.