CATELIN SHINES IN THE RAIN AND LECERTUA BACK ON TRACK AHEAD OF THE SUMMER BREAK

Five years after its first visit to the Burgundy track, the Alpine Elf Europa Cup was back at the Circuit Dijon-Prenois on Friday. Thibaut Bossy (Herrero Racing) and Léo Jousset (Race Cars Consulting) were initially the fastest drivers on one of the quickest tracks on the calendar, but Lorens Lecertua took control on Saturday to claim the first pole position on offer.

RACE 1: LECERTUA IN FULL COMMAND

Starting from pole for the second time this season, Lorens Lecertua held off Romain Favre (VPS Racing) to stay in front at the start, where Tim Mérieux (Autosport GP) came from eighteenth on the starting grid to tenth place. Despite the pressure from his pursuer, Lorens Lecertua held on to first place, leaving his rival to put on a superb duel with Alexis Garcin (Chazel Technologie Course Junior) on lap four.

The Belgian took advantage of this to increase his lead while Romain Favre regained the upper hand on Alexis Garcin as Léo Jousset looked on in the chase group. Behind them, Louis Maurice (Code Racing Development) and Enzo Geraci (Chazel Technologie Course Junior) joined the battle for the podium by surprising Léo Jousset on lap 12, when Alexis Garcin retired with a technical issue.

In the final sprint, Romain Favre nibbled away at Lorens Lecertua's advantage, but the leader kept his cool to take his second win of the season. Romain Favre and Enzo Geraci joined him on the podium after Louis Maurice lost many places after trying to overtake Romain Favre on the penultimate lap. After Léo Jousset's retirement two laps from the chequers, the top five was completed by Willyam Gosselin (VPS Racing) and Tim Mérieux, who made the biggest comeback on Saturday with 13 positions gained. Thibaut Bossy (Herrero Racing) won the Challengers category, while Anthony Fournier (Race Cars Consulting) did the same in the Gentlemen class.

RACE 2: WINNING GAMBLE FOR CATELIN AND CODE RACING DEVELOPMENT

On Sunday, Lorens Lecertua did it again in qualifying, leading a sweep of the top three for Chazel Technologie Course Junior in a fine drizzle. Just over two hours later, the Belgian started ahead of teammates Enzo Geraci and Alexis Garcin on a wet track following several showers.

In these challenging conditions, the leaders opted for slicks. Lorens Lecertua kept th the lead at the start, animated by the comeback of several competitors on Michelin rain tyres, including Louis Maurice. Fifth on the grid, Louis Maurice took the lead at the exit of the Pouas curve on lap two before Lorens Lecertua regained the lead on a drier track three laps later.

When the safety car came on track after Alain Jacono’s off, it began to rain again. Lorens Lecertua opened up a lead at the restart, whilst Romain Favre and Jules Gougeon quickly gave way to Louis Maurice, followed and then overtaken by his teammate Adrien Catelin at the head of a field where positions changed at every corner.

In the final stretch, Challenger Adrien Catelin sealed his first victory in the Alpine Elf Europa Cup. Initially second, Louis Maurice received a five-second penalty for jumping the start. Léo Jousset, who started 15th, inherited second place to take victory in the Juniors category ahead of Louis Maurice, who claimed his first podium finish. Remaining on slicks till the end, Lorens Lecertua finished fourth ahead of Jules Gougeon (Chazel Technologie Course Junior), Romain Favre, Margaux Verza (Autosport GP), Alexis Garcin and Enzo Geraci. Tenth despite an incident with Alain Jacono on the opening lap, Anthony Fournier claimed his second victory in the Gentlemen category.

RACE 3: LECERTUA DOUBLES UP

After the postponement of race two at Magny-Cours, a third confrontation took place at Dijon. The second fastest time of each driver in Q2 held on Sunday morning set the grid, and Lorens Lecertua took his third consecutive pole in an incredibly compact field where the top 14 were covered by less than a second.

At the rolling start, Lorens Lecertua maintained his advantage while Enzo Geraci and Romain Favre got the better of Louis Maurice. Further back, Tim Mérieux surprised Alexis Garcin to move into the top five on lap three before taking advantage of the Romain Favre - Louis Maurice duel to join the third-place battle. Louis Maurice lost out with an excursion into the gravel trap on lap eight, shortly before Tim Mérieux overtook Romain Favre to take his place on the provisional podium.

At the sharp end of the field, Lorens Lecertua gradually extended his lead and took his third win of the year by nearly four seconds from Enzo Geraci. Third-placed Tim Mérieux claimed a podium on home soil ahead of Romain Favre and Alexis Garcin, who battled all the way to the finish. Jules Gougeon finished sixth ahead of Sami Dhahri and Thibaut Bossy, who won the Challengers race ahead of Adrien Catelin. Ethan Bernard (Herrero Racing) completed the top ten, while Anthony Fournier completed his hat-trick of wins in Dijon with another victory in the Gentlemen category.

Lorens Lecertua's two victories in Burgundy see him leap from fourth to first place in the general classification. The Belgian has a ten-point lead over Enzo Geraci and is eighteen points clear of Romain Favre in a trio of Juniors who have pulled away in the race for the title. Meanwhile, Adrien Catelin still leads the Challengers category, as does Chazel Technologie Course Junior in the Teams category, whilst Anthony Fournier takes command of the Gentlemen category thanks to his three wins over the weekend.

The Alpine Elf Europa Cup now goes into its summer break before the return to action at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya (14-16 September), three weeks before the season finale at Circuit Paul Ricard (6-8 October).

QUOTES

Lorens Lecertua (winner of races 1 and 3)

It's been a long time since Nogaro! Fortunately, I've put together a string of good results, and consistency is the most important thing if you want to win this championship. I'm still in the running, and I confirmed that with three poles and two wins. It was a bit difficult at times, both at the start with some of my rivals and at the end with some unexpected tyre degradation, but the overall result is more than positive!

Adrien Catelin (winner of race 2)

It's pretty crazy and magical to win! I want to thank the Code Racing Development team for their excellent strategy of starting on wet tyres. I've always been comfortable in these conditions, and my years of experience in categories without traction control helped me a lot. The safety car was a little help as the track started to dry out before the rain returned, but I managed to do what I liked by finding grip and having fun on the restart!

Léo Jousset (winner of the Junior category race 2)

This first win in the Junior category is the reward for all the hard work we've put in with Race Cars Consulting. We've been performing well since the start of the season, but we haven't been able to capitalise until now. We weren't expecting it when we were 15th on the grid, so it's even more gratifying, even if the heavy downpour during the safety car period meant that the situation changed, and to chase after a podium finish and category victory.

Thibaut Bossy (winner Challengers category races 1 and 3)

I'm thrilled to have won twice in the Challengers, but extremely disappointed with my pace in race one on Saturday. I made up two places at the start before my pace dropped off, and I fell back in the general classification.

Anthony Fournier (winner of the Gentlemen category races 1, 2 and 3)

It was a significant weekend with three races, and the aim was to score big points. I did that with three wins in my category, but it was anything but easy. Saturday was a good illustration of that, with an excellent pace in Q1 before a temperature problem deprived me of power at the start. We had to get the temperatures down before regaining our pace and positions to salvage this well-deserved victory!

CLASSIFICATIONS

Race 1

1. Lorens Lecertua (Chazel Technologie Course Junior)

2. Romain Favre (VPS Racing) +1.473s

3. Enzo Geraci (Chazel Technologie Course Junior) +1.751

4. Willyam Gosselin (VPS Racing) +7.537s

5. Tim Mérieux (Autosport GP) +7.870s

Pole position: Lorens Lecertua (Chazel Technologie Course Junior) – 1:23.404s

Fastest lap: Léo Jousset (Race Cars Consulting) – 1:24.939q

Race 2

1. Adrien Catelin (Code Racing Development)

2. Léo Jousset (Race Cars Consulting) +4.458s

3. Louis Maurice (Code Racing Development) +5.408s

4. Lorens Lecertua (Chazel Technologie Course Junior) +12.644s

5. Jules Gougeon (Chazel Technologie Course Junior) +12.804s

Pole position : Lorens Lecertua (Chazel Technologie Course Junior) – 1:23.421s

Fastest lap: Lorens Lecertua (Chazel Technologie Course Junior) – 1:31.941s

Race 3

1. Lorens Lecertua (Chazel Technologie Course Junior)

2. Enzo Geraci (Chazel Technologie Course Junior) +3.705s

3. Tim Mérieux (Autosport GP) +8.587s

4. Romain Favre (VPS Racing) +14.987s

5. Alexis Garcin (Chazel Technologie Course Junior) +15.272s

Pole position : Lorens Lecertua (Chazel Technologie Course Junior) – 1:23.587s

Fastest lap: Lorens Lecertua (Chazel Technologie Course Junior) – 1:24.828s

General classification

1. Lorens Lecertua – 112 points

2. Enzo Geraci – 102 points

3. Romain Favre – 94 points

4. Alexis Garcin – 71 points

5. Tim Mérieux – 66 points