Daniel Ticktum (Arden Motorsport) scored his first win in Formula Renault 2.0 Eurocup race at Hungaroring. It was a perfect day for the British driver with pole position in morning qualifying session. Sacha Fenestraz (Josef Kaufmann Racing) and Neil Verhagen (MP Motorsport) accompanied Daniel to the podium.

Maiden pole for Ticktum and Arden

Fenestraz was the quickest driver in the first qualifying group but Ticktum succeeded to set the fastest time overall – 1:56.198. It was enough to qualify in front of Gabriel Aubry (Tech 1 Racing).

The Frenchmen answered in Q2 which determined the starting grid for Sunday races. Fenestraz was a bit quicker with the time 1:41.012, he will start race 2 from pole as Aubry gets the third pole of the weekend.

Ticktum strong in the lead

Daniel Ticktum retained his lead at the start while Fenestraz tried to overtake him in the first corners. The safety car came out after a crash in the back of the field. The British driver once again fended off the attacks of his rival at the restart and led all the way to the finish to score his first win.

Fenestraz came second and got himself close to the championship leaders as Will Palmer didn’t score any points and Robert Shwartzman finished 7th after starting from P12.

Neil Verhagen completed the top-3, it’s his first podium result in FR2.0. Aubry finished 4th, Alexander Vartanyan (JD Motorsport) drove a solid race for his best result in the season.

Qualifying 1 | Qualifying 2 | Race 1

Race 1 replay

Daniel Ticktum (Arden Motorsport): “Before this weekend, I knew that the Hungaroring better suited my driving style. I always pray for a few drops of rain, because I have often done well in these conditions. It doesn’t happen very often, but it did this morning! A mistake on my penultimate lap put pressure on me, but I managed to put in a good final lap I did not expect it to be the pole position! In the race, it was hard to manage the two consecutive safety car periods, but I stayed focused to make it happen. It is impressive to see a team take its driver to the top step of the podium as early as the first half of his maiden season in a category. With Ben Salter and my engineer Matt Callaghan, we have worked every weekend to progress and reach our goals: to be the first member of the Red Bull Junior Team to be the best rookie and to win. Today it is mission accomplished with the fastest race lap to boot!”

Sacha Fenestraz (Josef Kaufmann Racing): “I knew that Daniel was fast and I tried, to no avail, to catch him on the opening lap. I tried to brake hard, but he was better positioned. Nevertheless, I am satisfied to finish second. I wanted to avoid unnecessary risks with the track limits that have caught out a number of drivers since the start of the weekend. This result brings a good points haul and in starting from pole and second tomorrow, I could do a lot of good for my championship hopes. We have to pay close attention to the conditions and do our best no matter what happens.”

Neil Verhagen (MP Motorsport): “Everything is new to me this season and discovering these tracks for the first time is a big part of my learning process. It makes things a little harder, but I never back down from a challenge! In seeing Daniel try to pull away from Sacha, I prepared a nice move on Gabriel Aubry. This podium represents a step in the right direction, even though we still haven’t shown our full potential. The team continues to make progress and we should be able to battle for even better results as the year goes on.”

*Results subject to confirmation following technical and sporting verifications.

Interviews from: Renault Sport