The first two days of the seventh round of the Formula Renault 2.0 Northern European Cup were marked by tropical circumstances; blue skies and over thirty degrees Celsius. The both qualifying sessions were held on Saturday afternoon, and dominated by Alex Riberas who earned a double pole with lap times of 1:33.368 and 1:32.563.

 

Sunday the 26^th of August offered completely different weather than the days before. Heavy rain and a very wet track were waiting for the 34 competitors at 9.15 on Sunday Morning. Because none of the drivers had any experience in the wet, race control decided the start would be held behind the safety car enabling the participants to get accustomed with the new circumstances. After two laps, the safety car was with drawn and the race could really start.

 

Alex Riberas took off, with Stoffel Vandoorne in his shadow. The fight for the lead would last until the end, when the two finished within just 0.6 of a second from each other. The most remarkable performance was that of Gabriel Casagrande for Mark Burdett Motorsport, who was able to manage the very difficult conditions and drove to a third place in the race.

 

The second race was postponed for one hour because of the bad weather, and finally offered a drier track and better prospects for all drivers. That the track offered more space for overtaking, soon became clear when the race started. Riberas had a good start, but Vandoorne was already trying to catch the lead on the outside of the first corner. The fight would last for a few more turns, but finally Vandoorne took over in the second lap. The move cost Riberas another place, and had to continue from third position behind Nyck de Vries. The battle for second position escalated when Riberas tried to pass the Dutchman on the outside, got stuck in the wheels of De Vries, resulting in a short exit of both drivers. Jake Dennis could profit and drove to second, as De Vries managed to continue from third. Riberas finally managed to finish on a sixth place.

 

With a second place in the last race, Jake Dennis managed built on his lead in the standings of the Northern European Cup. He now leads with 64 points to Jordan King, who had quite an unfortunate weekend. Josh Hill, who did an amazing job in the second race, driving from 19^th to 4^th place, follows in third position.

 

The following round of the Northern European Cup will take place during the Truck Prix in Most, held on the 1^st and 2^nd of September 2012.