Zeta Corse capped a superb weekend with another podium finish at the Hungaroring. In the second race of the World Series Renault 3.5 at the Budpest venue, the weather finally brought consistently dry conditions and Spaniard Roberto Merhi performed without an hitch, continuing to close his gap to the championship lead. After scoring a phenomenal pole in the morning, the 23-year-old racer delivered a clever run in the afternoon. Despite being passed by an opponent at the start, he tried all he could to fight back before settling for many valuable points in 2nd. He is now only 16 points off championship leader Carlos Sainz.
After yesterday’s impressive run, Russian rookie Roman Mavlanov also posted another solid race, making his way up to the top-10 before settling for the 13th position as the checkered flag fell. Unfortunately, he was assessed a 10-second penalty for not respecting the track limits due to a couple of small mistakes, and was re-classified in 16th. His display throughout the weekend was absolutely positive, especially looking forward to the penultimate round of the season at Le Castellet.
Zeta Corse and the World Series Renault 3.5 teams and drivers will be back in action in less than two weeks at the spectacular Paul Ricard venue in southern France. It will be a key round in order to profit from the momentum built so far and make further progress approaching the final stages of the 2014 season.
Roberto Merhi – Q2: P1 – R2: P2
“I got many points this weekend but actually I feel so and so because I know I had the pace to win again in Race 2. The start has been the key moment with Nato cruising to the front, and I also flatspotted my front tires a bit in order to try and catch him and I didn’t have all the grip. Anyway, after Spa-Francorchamps we have been on a great run and I hope to continue the same way for the two closing races of the season”.
Roman Mavlanov – Q2: P14; R2: P16
“The start was perfect, and I managed to improve my position straight away and fighting all the way up to the top-10. Unfortunately, before the mandatory tire change I did a couple of mistakes, and I exited the pit-lane in 13th. I set a consistent pace, holding the position until the end, but was assessed a 10-second penalty for track limits due to the errors I did before, getting classified in 16th. Anyway, we did a good job this weekend, and I hope we will keep carrying the same momentum at Paul Ricard”.