Although Saturday was predicted to be the rainiest day of the weekend, the tarmac remained dry for the first race. Jake Dennis had earned pole, joined by Andrea Pizzitola on the first starting row. Pieter Schothorst had put down a strong performance in qualifying and earned third place. After the lights went off, it was the French talent of the FFSA taking the lead in the first lap. Not all cars managed to pass the first corner without damage; Josh Hill fell victim to the first corner. He could continue, but had to start right at the back of the 30-car field.
It was a race of many overtaking maneuvers, even at the front of the field. Jake Dennis kept his position at the tail of Pizzitola and managed to get by in the third lap.
A little further on, Jeroen Slaghekke fought himself from 12th to 6th position in just three laps. A position he could keep until a blazing Steijn Schothorst came by, who underlined his pace with the fastest racing lap in 1.39.012. Back at the front, De Vries battled with teammate Pizzitola for second place, enabling Dennis to built on a progressing gap. In the seventh lap, De Vries found an opportunity to pass, after which the top three finished in that order.
Under a sky threatened by rain, the second race of the NEC started at 16.10 on Sunday afternoon. In front of 62.000 spectators, the packed field of 30 got ready for the start. Poleman Nyck de Vries had a bad start, after which Kevin Kleveros for Trackstar Racing lead everyone through the first corner. Jordan King for Manor MP Motorsport was right behind him, and both drivers fought for five laps to be in first position. Finally, in the sixth lap, King managed to overtake Kleveros.
Meanwhile De Vries has started his own race to the front, and was in third position in that same sixth lap. It took another two to get by King for second place, after which he took back the lead in the tenth lap. The long expected rain finally made its way to the TT track with three remaining minutes on the clock. The race was neutralized with a red flag, and because of the short remainder of time not restarted.
Jake Dennis still has a firm grip on the first place in the current standings with a 33-point lead to Jordan King, followed by Josh Hill and Jeroen Slaghekke. As the series arrived at its halfway point, the candidates for the 2012 title slowly rise to the surface.
The following race of the Formula Renault 2.0 Northern European Cup will take place at the Red Bull Ring in Austria, in the weekend of the 25th and 26th of August.
Result Race 1:
1. Jake Dennis in 15 laps, 25 minutes and 8.021 seconds, 2. Nyck de Vries + 3.269, 3. Andrea Pizzitola + 6.790, 4. Pieter Schothorst + 13.754, 5. Ed Jones + 14.225, 6. Steijn Schothorst 14.309, 7. Jeroen Slaghekke + 14.635, 8. Jordan King + 17. 322, 9. Mikko Pakari + 18.591, 10. Ignazio D’Agosto + 20.303
Result Race 2:
1. Nyck de Vries in 12 laps, in 20 minutes and 12.809 seconds, 2. Jordan King + 1.607, 3. Jake Dennis + 3.855, 4. Kevin Kleveros + 5.590, 5. Josh Hill + 6.220, 6. Meindert van Buuren Jr + 7.956, 7. Steijn Schothorst + 8.409, 8. Ed Jones + 9.295, 9. Pieter Schothorst + 12.205, 10. Jeroen Slaghekke + 12.700, 24. Frank Suntjens +52.670
Standings in the Cup:
1. Jake Dennis with 214 points, 2. Jordan King 181, 3. Josh Hill 152, 4. Jeroen Slaghekke 127, 5. Stoffel Vandoorne 122, 6. Andrea Pizzitola 113, 7. Nyck de Vries 110, 8. Kleveros 109, 9. Steijn Schothorst 99, 10. Sandy Stuvik 83.
