EUROCUP FORMULA RENAULT 2.0 – A FRUSTRATING WEEKEND FOR ANTHOINE HUBERT!

On a circuit he has never driven before, Anthoine Hubert started his weekend well by placing himself, from the very first free practice on Friday, in the top 10 just two tenths of a second short of the best time. But during the qualifying session the “Volant Euroformula” was not so forward and came in eighth in his group and started 15th on the grid for Race 1. The rain then invited itself to the start of the race and, with a really difficult car to handle, Anthoine Hubert would not fare better than 19th with his lap times far behind the best, which is rather unusual for him!
The second qualifying session was also on a damp track. Anthoine Hubert, with a tuned car, was in lead positions before a competitor went off track right in front of him, penalising his last lap and making it impossible to do better. The result was a disappointing 22nd place. Race 2 then resumed with just five laps to go having had two safety cars out. Difficult in these conditions to claw back some position. The “Volant Euroformula” finally standing in 15th place.
These results do not reflect the level of performance Anthoine Hubert can give us. He leaves Nurburgring rather disappointed:
“This weekend was rather negative. What made it most difficult were the changing weather conditions. My car was difficult to drive in the rain in the first race but the team worked well and everything was ready for the next day. We then narrowly missed out in the second qualifiers when I was held up in my last lap on a drying track, which put me right to the back at the start of the race. After a good performance in Russia, it’s difficult to find ourselves so far back. But we were still able to work and improve in these changing conditions, which will surely help us in the following races. I’m still confident for the rest of the championship!”
For Laurent Fradon, the director of the Euroformula School, this kind of counter-performance is a normal part of life for a young driver: « Anthoine has known a frustrating weekend, he is still in his apprenticeship and it’s normal for him to run into these kind of difficulties. He had performance in the previous race and we mustn’t forget that. We still believe he can rise up to the podium. He must be patient but it shouldn’t be long now!”
The next meeting is in Hungary, September 13 & 14 on the Hungaroring circuit. It will be ‘back to school’ for Anthoine Hubert, the Volant Euroformula 2013, and his objective will be to step up on a podium which, remember, he was just short of winning in Russia!