Paulet does it again in Race 2 | Ferrari Challenge Europe Le Castellet Trofeo Pirelli
Perfect Sergio Paulet does it again. The Spaniard made it two wins at Le Castellet with another dominant performance in Ferrari Challenge Europe.
LE CASTELLET, France — For Sergio Paulet, Race 2 must have felt like Deja Vu, with an almost identical finish and the same result as Race 1 in Le Castellet. Paulet once again walked away with the overall and class win, with Gilles Renmans less than a second behind, and Max Mugelli inheriting 3rd-place overall thanks to a Michael Verhagen penalty. In Trofeo Pirelli AM, it was Verhagen who took the class win despite his time penalty, leaving 2nd-place for Anders Bidstrup, with Danilo Del Favero pulling off a great recovery drive to claim 3rd.
Ferrari Challenge Europe Le Castellet Trofeo Pirelli Race 2 Results
- 1st: Sergio Paulet (Trofeo Pirelli)
- 2nd: Gilles Renmans (Trofeo Pirelli)
- 3rd: Max Mugelli (Trofeo Pirelli)
- 4th: Michael Verhagen (Trofeo Pirelli AM)
- 5th: Anders Bidstrup (Trofeo Pirelli AM)
- 6th: Danilo Del Favero (Trofeo Pirelli AM)
- 7th: Herbert Geiss (Trofeo Pirelli AM)
- 8th: Giacomo Rinaldo (Trofeo Pirelli AM)
- 9th: Jacob Bidstrup (Trofeo Pirelli AM)
- 10th: Carl Runefelt (Trofeo Pirelli AM)
- 11th: Otto Blank (Trofeo Pirelli AM)
- 12th: Nobuhiro Imada (Trofeo Pirelli AM)
As It Happened: Le Castellet Trofeo Pirelli Race 2
As the race started, Sergio Paulet had to get the shoulders out to hold the lead, which forced Gilles Renmans to leave the track, temporarily halting his progress. At around halfway through the race, Renmans was given a rather harsh 5-second penalty for the opening lap incident with Paulet. However, the Belgium driver was already 10-seconds ahead of Max Mugelli at this point. With 10-minutes left in the race, it was pretty quiet in the top class. Renmans was slowly catching Paulet, but with that 5-second time penalty, he wasn't a real threat. Mugelli was consistent and clean, but nowhere near matching the pace of Renmans or Paulet. Right at the end of the race, Renmans was within a second of Paulet, but the Spaniard had dominated the entire weekend, and wasn't going to let his race win slip away that easily.
As It Happened: Le Castellet Trofeo Pirelli AM Race 2
Danilo Del Favero led the AM field after the first couple of corners. But it was Herbert Geiss who started best, gaining four positions and climbing into 2nd-place behind Del Favero. Early in the race, it was clear that the battle in the Trofeo Pirelli AM class would be between Del Favero, Geiss, and Michael Verhagen. The Dutch man was just three-tenths away from the German, with the class leader, Del Favero, only one second down the road.
In the Trofeo Pirelli AM midfield, Carl Runefelt had his work cut out when sitting in P8 overall, with the Swedish driver sandwiched between Danish brothers Jacob Bidstrup and Anders Bidstrup. Runefelt was defending well, but all of his attention was in his mirrors. Runefelt was given a helping hand from the stewards, with Jacob Bidstrup getting a 5-second penalty for track limits. Yet, the Dane still found a way past the Swede, putting Runefelt in the sights of Giacomo Rinaldo.
While all of this was happening, Del Favero had tumbled down the order, sitting P8 with 11 minutes left in the race after a collision with Michael Verhagen. Anders Bidstrup was hungry for 2nd-place with just over five minutes left, but he would have to get past a very fast Herbert Geiss, who wasn't keen on losing his position. However, Anders eventually got the position, but now his brother, Jacob, was on Geiss' case. In a dramatic twist, Verhagen was handed a 10-second penalty for his earlier incident with Del Favero. This meant the Dutch driver had to push hard until the end of the race to ensure he held onto the lead! Verhagen was more than capable of handling this situation and stormed home to claim the class win. But his old buddy Del Favero did an amazing recovery drive to sneak onto the podium thanks to the large amount of penalties in front of him and some amazing driving.
Driver of the Race: Danilo Del Favero
As mentioned, Danilo Del Favero found plenty of trouble in Le Castellet today. However, Del Favero pulled off a brilliant recovery drive, climbing from the middle of the Trofeo Pirelli AM field to claim the last spot on the podium. I could have given my Tifosi7 driver of the race award to Sergio Paulet, but he has won too much this weekend, so well done Del Favero!
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