Rump does the double at Nurburgring

Photo: Chris Schotanus

Estonian racer Martin Rump has delivered a decisive blow to the championship hopes of his rivals in Formula Renault 1.6 NEC by taking two victories in the fourth round of the series at Nurburgring.

Rump qualified third for both races, with the top two spots locked out by poleman Janneau Esmeijer and Roy Geerts. However, in race one, he immediately made up for starting behind the Dutch duo by overtaking both of them on lap one and then cruising to victory.

With Rump seemingly untouchable, Esmeijer and Geerts had to settle for podium places, with the former coming out on top in the battle for second. Larry ten Voorde overhauled Paul Blomqvist for fourth, whilst Tommy van Erp rounded out the top six.

As a result of race one, Esmeijer and Geerts found themselves privy to a three-place grid penalty for race two, giving the front row to Rump and van Erp. The Estonian again ran unopposed, while the Dutch duo soon found themselves back in podium contention, with Esmeijer again seeing Geerts off for second.

A stellar recovery drive saw Pontus Fredricsson make up for a bad qualifying with fourth, while van Erp had to settle for sixth, losing out to ten Voorde.

In the standings, Rump will lead Geerts by 20 points coming into the penultimate round, with Esmeijer a further 22 behind.

Race one

Race two