Victor Martins closes Eurocup points gap with Hockenheim win

Photo: Dutch Photo Agency

Victor Martins closed the Formula Renault Eurocup championship gap to Oscar Piastri after winning from pole in race one at Hockenheim.

MP Motorsport driver Martins didn’t get the best start, with R-ace GP’s Piastri taking the lead before the first turn. However a side-by-side battle in the following corners enabled JD Motorsport’s Ugo de Wilde to jump past both.

Martins and Piastri had other chances during the early parts of the race to battle, although by the second half of the 30-minute race Martins was in the lead of the race again after de Wilde fell down the order.

There wasn’t any further trouble as Martins took the chequered flag with a three-second gap to the championship leader, taking his winning streak to three races.

Piastri’s team-mate Caio Collet cemented the final podium position – his first top three finish since the Nurburgring – with no battles around him. The result means he will be crowned rookie champion.

De Wilde had to hold off the likes of championship returnees Gregoire Saucy (R-ace GP) and Sebastian Fernandez (Arden) at the end to claim fourth place, with just 1.2 seconds separating the trio.

M2 Competition’s Kush Maini took the chequered flag in seventh place, with Arden’s Patrik Pasma not too far behind him in eighth.

F1 Esports Series racer Cem Bolukbasi finished 16th on his single-seater debut for M2 Competition, while Alexander Smolyar saw his title chances decrease with a retirement.

Race results