Maiden rookie win for Michael Belov in Formula Renault Eurocup debut with M2 Competition

M2 Competition positively started the Formula Renault Eurocup with Michael Belov claiming his first win among the rookies and currently sitting 3^rd in the overall drivers’ standings.

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After a four-month hiatus, Formula Renault Eurocup resumed in Monza (Italy). This race weekend marked SMP Racing driver Michael Belov’s debuts in the championship. Two days of pre-season testing took place before the weekend.

Race 1

After having qualified 7^th on the grid on Friday morning, Michael started his first Formula Renault Eurocup race in the afternoon. His race pace allowed him to attempt overtaking manoeuvres early in the race, passing William Alatalo in the first lap. Michael managed perfectly the two safety car periods and remained in contention for 4^th place during the whole race against Thijmen van der Helm, exchanging positions with the Dutch several times during the race. Michael eventually crossed the line in 5^th place for his Eurocup debut.

Race 2

Starting from P9 on the grid, Michael made good progress right from the first lap and managed to avoid an incident happening ahead of him. Once again, he proved his good race pace by overtaking Grégoire Saucy and Petr Ptacek in just two laps. Michael crossed the line in 4^th place with a comfortable margin over the following driver. In doing so, he also claimed his first win among the rookies.

Michael Belov: “The weekend went pretty well. We have had good results during the whole week and also during the tests where we tried several things to understand where we were. We have the potential to be even faster by improving our qualifying pace. We scored good points, good feelings and we will see what Imola brings us.”

Elise Moury, Team Manager: “Overall it has been a positive week. We have been able to progress step by step from the first testing session Monday to the rookie win on Saturday. The results we gathered match our initial targets and this is satisfying. Now we know there is still some margin for improvement and we will keep working to achieve more on track with Michael.”

The next Formula Renault race will take place in Imola (Italy), on July 25^th.

 

Full Results / Michael Belov

FP1: P16

FP2: P5

Q1: P9 (race 2)

Q2: P7 (race 1)

Race 1: P5

Race 2: P4 (best rookie)

Championship standings :

Drivers: Michael Belov 3^rd (best rookie)

Teams: 5^th

 

© Photo credit : Renault Sport Series / DPPI Images