Moscow FR3.5: Stoffel Vandoorne dominates and closes points gap
Stoffel Vandoorne closed the points deficit to Formula Renault 3.5 championship leader Kevin Magnussen to just four with a dominant victory in race one at Moscow Raceway
Polesitter Vandoorne executed a perfect race. After a faultless getaway, the McLaren junior racer opened a 1.4-second lead at the completion of the first lap.
A broken exhaust prevented second-place finisher Antonio Felix da Costa of Arden Caterham from mounting a threat, as a series of fastest laps by Vandoorne extended his Fortec car's advantage to a comfortable 6.7s at the chequered flag.
"This track is really hard to overtake on," said Vandoorne, "so pole was crucial. At the start I was able to create a bit of a gap, and then I could gradually drive away.
"We went a little bit in the wrong direction in the second collective test, I have to say well done to the team for making improvements overnight and getting on top of everything."
Tech 1 racer Nigel Melker survived a charging performance from Will Stevens to take the final place on the podium. In a race of few overtaking manoeuvres, Stevens made admirable progress from seventh on the grid.
The Briton risked a bold move pass debutant Will Buller for fourth place at the conclusion of lap seven.
But Buller provided Stevens with plenty of margin once Stevens' commitment to late-braking was clear, and the Zeta Corse racer took to the last corner's asphalt run-off area to be certain to avoid a collision.
Buller was unable to match the pace of the leaders, but produced an impressive debut performance to hold a four-car queue led by Andre Negrao at bay for the duration of the race.
Magnussen finished one place outside of the points in 11th. The Dane had been relegated from third to 17th on the grid after losing his two fastest laps for blocking in qualifying.
The DAMS driver made up most of his ground away on the opening lap, before passing team-mate Norman Nato for 12th on lap two. Magnussen would spend the remainder of the race tucked up on Marco Sorensen's gearbox.
The race was marred by a heavy shunt for SMP by Comtec racer Lucas Foresti, who fortunately escaped from his car unaided after being pitched onto his rollbar at high-speed.
The Brazilian had entered Turn 9 from the outside Michelin-to-Michelin with Nikolay Martksenko. A touch of wheels sent both drivers into retirement, although there was little dispute that Foresti suffered the more spectacular exit.
Results - 33 laps: Pos Driver Team Time/Gap 1. Stoffel Vandoorne Fortec 45m30.868s 2. Antonio Felix da Costa Arden Caterham + 6.734s 3. Nigel Melker Tech 1 + 10.050s 4. Will Stevens P1/Strakka + 10.867s 5. Will Buller Zeta + 34.929s 6. Andre Negrao Draco + 35.180s 7. Nico Muller Draco + 35.934s 8. Marlon Stockinger Lotus + 36.731s 9. Oliver Webb Fortec + 38.450s 10. Marco Sorensen Lotus + 39.353s 11. Kevin Magnussen DAMS + 40.809s 12. Arthur Pic AV + 41.367s 13. Norman Nato DAMS + 43.501s 14. Matias Laine P1/Strakka + 43.917s 15. Carlos Huertas Carlin + 57.942s 16. Mikhail Aleshin Tech 1 + 1m15.374s 17. Daniil Move SMP/Comtec + 1m15.581s 18. Pietro Fantin Arden Caterham + 1m16.535s 19. Yann Cunha AV + 1m17.163s 20. Mihai Marinescu Zeta + 1m18.529s 21. Zoel Amberg Pons + 1 lap 22. Christopher Zanella ISR + 1 lap Retirements: Jazeman Jaafar Carlin 27 laps Lucas Foresti SMP/Comtec 21 laps Nikolay Martsenko Pons 21 laps Sergey Sirotkin ISR 0 laps
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