Flag to flag victory for Merhi and Zeta Corse in Moscow Race 2
Zeta corse couldn’t have hoped for a better ending to their F.Renault 3.5 home round. In Moscow Raceway, the track located 100 kilometers west of Moscow in the Volokolamsk region, the Russian team clinched their maiden win in the World Series by Renault thanks to a dominating performance by Roberto Merhi. After taking pole position in the morning qualifying session, in the afternoon the talented Spaniard led the race from flag to flag.
After nailing a perfect start, Roberto made the most of an early battle between his closest rivals to open a comfortable gap, and from then on his lead was never endangered. Zeta Corse preserved his advantage on the competition with a flawless pit-stop on lap 13, and when Merhi got back on track he started pushing even more, posting a sequence of fastest laps and extending his advantage. Finally, he crossed the line in front of a cheering crowd with a seven seconds gap on the closest competitor, to the delight of Zeta Corse’s staff.
On the team’s other car, Roman Mavlanov’s day wasn’t as satisfying: the talented Russian youngster had to cope with a difficult qualifying session, and starting from the back of the field made his race very tricky. On a track that offers no overtaking spots at all Roman tried his best to recover some places, but on lap 20 he lost control of his car and spun in the gravel, putting an end to his race.
Zeta’s best result to date in F.Renault 3.5 doesn’t mean the team will have time to celebrate: the championship’s next round in Nuerburgring will come in less than two weeks, and the tecnical staff is already focused on the new challenge.
Roberto Merhi: Q2 – P1; R2 – 1
“I’m incredibly happy. I have to thank the team for giving me a perfect car, that allowed me to drive exactly as I wanted. You know, I worked really hard together with the team to get our package to this performance level, and to see everything fall in place right in their home race is amazing. I won’t forget this moment for a long time, and from now on I’ll keep giving my best to get more wins and podium finishes”.
Roman Mavlanov: Q2 – P18; R2 – DNF
“After yesterday’s amazing race I hoped to do even better today, but sadly that wasn’t the case. In qualifying I couldn’t get my best sectors together in the same lap, and in the race everything got very difficult starting from ninth row. I tried my best to make up some ground and finish into the points but while I was pushing really hard I made a mistake and I spun in the gravel. It’s a pity, but now I’m already focused on the championship’s next round in Nurburgring”.
