The Moscow Raceway hosted the third round of the 2014 World Series by Renault on 28-29 June in which the former Auto Sport Academy trainees starred scoring all the best results by French drivers.
French drivers hit the headlines last weekend at the Moscow Raceway. In qualifying for the Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 former Auto Sport Academy trainees Aurélien Panis, Anthoine Hubert (2013 French F4 Champion) and Andréa Pizzitola (runner-up in the same championship in 2011) filled the first three places in qualifying for race 1 in which Panis scored his maiden win. Pizzitola finished second while Hubert took third only to be given a 10-second penalty for jumping the start dropping him back to 10th position. Matevos Isaakyan saw the flag in eighth place.
On Sunday, things didn’t go so well for the French drivers in race 2 and Pizzitola, Isaakyan, Panis and Hubert crossed the finishing line in sixth, seventh, eighth and 13th places.
In the top category, Formula Renault 3.5, Pierre Gasly (3rd in the 2011 French F4 Championship), who has been the revelation of the 2014 season, set the second and third-fastest times in the two qualifying sessions on the Russian circuit. Also taking part in the same event was Norman Nato (runner-up in the 2010 French F4 Championship), who did not have a great weekend on the Moscow Raceway after scoring points at Spa-Francorchamps in the wake of his brilliant win in Monaco. In the first race Gasly suffered a clutch problem and he had to start from the pits a lap in arrears losing all the benefit of his second place on the grid: he saw the flag in 18th place.
The young Frenchman made a much better start in race 2 from third on the grid and took second place in the first corner where he stayed until the chequered flag. It was Gasly’s third second place out of 4 top-3 finishes this season. He is currently lying second in the championship while Nato is ninth.
Info Auto Sport Academy / © Photo DR