The event at the German Formula One track was marked by typical spring weather. Sun, winds, clouds and rain were all present at any time, making any weather predictions close to impossible. The first race would have a dry start, with Stoffel Vandoorne and Pierre Gasly on the front starting row. Although two cars further back in the field fell silent at the start, the whole field managed to reach the first corner without accidents. Turning into curve number one, Pierre Gasly was already next to Vandoorne, and got passed in the second. Vandoorne would not give up without a fight and took the lead back in the third lap, resulting in a further loss of position for the French Gasly.
The first half of the first race went better than anyone could expect from almost forty rookies in formula cars. Exactly half way, the first drops fell on the tarmac. At the same moment, Gasly missed his breaking point in the Spitzkehre and caused a crash by hitting Pieter Schothorst and Josh Hill. As the hairpin is a quite narrow part of the track, race control had to neutralise the race in order to clean the track of the damaged cars. One round later hail came down, and the safety car decision proved the right one, now leading the cars to a stop at start/finish line. The race was delayed by ten minutes to give the teams the chance to mount rain tyres.
After the restart, it was Jordan King for Manor MP Motorsport who fought himself to second place, followed by Jake Dennis. After 25 minutes of racing time, Vandoorne was the obvious and deserved winner, putting his pole position into a first victory in the Northern European Cup.
The second race on Sunday morning the 22nd of April saw another pole for Vandoorne, but like a day earlier, the car leaving from second place was right next to him in the first corner. Jake Dennis took the inside of turn one and took over. He did not have the opportunity to create a gap however, because an accident involving four cars occurred on the start of the straight. David Freiburghaus, Christof von Gruningen and Victor Colome were eliminated, leaving their cars damaged on the exit of the last turn. Another safetycar was deployed, leading the remaining cars safely away from the incident.
After three laps, the track was free and the race was restarted. The front of the field did not see any further changes, meaning a first victory for Jake Dennis, accompanied on the podium by Andrea Pizzitola and Josh Hill.
Jeroen Slaghekke had earned pole position a day earlier, by finishing sixth in the classification of the first race. Like any other start this weekend, the conditions where dry, but rain was not far away. Although Slaghekke had a good start, he could not avoid that Kevin Kleveros took the lead from him at the first turn. Race control had to interfere again, when heavy rain announced itself shortly after the start. For the second time in the first weekend, the cars were picked up by the safety car and led to start/finish for a 10 minute break.
After the restart it was Pizzitola who drove to a first position, having Kevin Kleveros and Stoffel Vandoorne on his tail. The latter knew how to deal best with the wet circumstances and drove to first place in the eighth lap. Jake Dennis continued his strong performance of the weekend and overtook the French Pizzitola. Four laps later, Vandoorne, Dennis and Pizzitola found their way to the podium, in that order.
The next round of the Formula Renault 2.0 Northern European Cup will be held on the Nurburgring, during the VLN event on the 21st until the 23rd of June.
Result Race 1:
- Stoffel Vandoorne in 37 minutes and 17.963 seconds, 2. Jordan King +2.394, 3. Jake Dennis + 3.283, 4. Andrea Pizzitola + 4.986, 5. Kevin Kleveros + 10.294, 6. Jeroen Slaghekke + 10.869, 7. Steijn Schothorst + 11.430, 8. Shahaan Engineeer + 14.006, 9. Jakub Schmiechowski, 10. Sandy Stuvik + 19.305
Result Race 2:
- Jake Dennis in 26 minutes and 8.701 seconds, 2. Andrea Pizzitola +0.956, 3. Hill + 2.281, 4. Alex Riberas + 2.827, 5. Jordan King + 3.327, 6. Nyck de Vries + 5.242, 7. Kevin Giovesi +5.795, 8. Shahaan Engineer + 6.217, 9. Meindert van Buuren 8.201, 10. Sandy Stuvik + 9.038
Result Race 3:
- Stoffel Vandoorne in 37 minutes and 47.567 seconds, 2. Jake Dennis + 7.293, 3. Andrea Pizzitola + 11.642, 4. Alex Riberas + 14.992, 5. Jordan King + 15.284, 6. Kleveros + 15.484, 7. Jeroen Slaghekke + 23.791, 8. Mikko Pakari + 30.268, 10. Christof von Gruningen + 38.510
Standings in the Championship after 3 races:
1. Jake Dennis with 74 points, 2. Stoffel Vandoorne 62, 3. Andrea Pizzitola 61, 4. Jordan King 56, 5. Alex Riberas 41, 6. Kevin Kleveros 40, 7. Jeroen Slaghekke 39, 8. Leopold Ringbom 28, 9. Shahaan Engineer 26, 10. Sandy Stuvik 22.
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