Olivé One Step Away From Podium In Hungary

The opening races of the Formula Renault 3.5 and Eurocup took place today at Hungaroring circuit ended up with a better result that initially expected following this morning's complicated qualifying sessions. EPSILON team's experience and its drivers' pride turned the day into something better than it started like having almost the entire squad within the points.

Eurocup 2.0 action Credit: Epsilon Euskadi

Bittersweet result in the Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 race. Genís Olivé finished fourth just behind Pic, Stevens and Vainio, Venturini sixth and Riberas eleventh after a fairly tough day. Qualifying session results didn't match EPSILON team expectations seeing its drivers not being able to achieve their expected positions. With Olivé starting fifth, Venturini ninth, Otegui eleventh and Riberas fifteenth -19th once the outstanding penalty was added, the race was going to be hard. And it was. Like other races before, Miguel Otegui did a great start arriving to the fifth position. Unfortunately, just a few laps to the end and defending his position against Vainio, he saw himself involved in an incident, with the Finnish driver and his team-mate Olivé, which put an end to his race. Thanks to today's result, Olivé, Venturini and Riberas add 10, 8 and 2 points up to their championship accounts.

Albert Costa was the main character in the Formula Renault 3.5 race. Following a hard qualifying session in which he never felt totally comfortable, the team decided to risk with the set up and it paid off well. Sixteenth on the grid, Costa performed a great start and an excellent driving to finish in the sixth position and step on the rookies' podium once more. Team-mate Keisuke Kunimoto also struggled over qualifying -managing the 14th position on the grid- and the race. In spite of a bad start and being hit by another car, the Japanese driver finished ninth and having set the fifth fastest lap of the race. Ricciardo was the race winner ahead of Championship leader Aleshin and Pentus.

#1 Genís Olivé - 4th: "This morning's qualifying session was weird and I couldn't get a better position than fifth. I did a pretty bad start on the race and took on the worse line. Tires got dirty and many drivers managed to overtake me but as soon as the tires cleaned up I was able to keep my pace. And then I got a few positions back. I was behind Otegui and Vainio, who went in too strong and run wide. I tried to overtake but such bad luck that I hit Miguel. I am really sorry because it wasn't my intention at all but it all happened real fast."

#3 Giovanni Venturini - 6th: "My start wasn't extraordinary. I got stuck and went through the first corner on the tenth position. First laps were hard because I wasn't having the same feeling with the car and I wasn't comfortable with it. But I was able to drive a lot more comfortably later on and improve a few positions, although not as many as I wanted to. At least, these eight points are important for the championship. Tomorrow I'll start from the fifth position on the grid and I hope to be able to get a good result out of it."

#4 Alex Riberas - 11th: "This morning's qualifying session didn't end up as I expected it to. The track had changed a lot with respect yesterday and I couldn't put together a good lap. Adding the four positions penalty, I started from the 19thspot. So far behind, the only thing I could do was to avoid accidents and try to keep a good pace to be able to get profitable conclusions out of it. In the end, two points are a much better result than we had this morning."

#2 Miguel Otegui - DNF: "It is almost impossible to have so much bad luck but I am this season. Being that close so many times and in the end… Today was one of those days. Qualifying session didn't match our expectations and I was starting quite behind. Once again, I did a good start and improved a few positions. I was carrying a good pace but a few laps to the end I saw myself involved in an incident in which I got the short end of the stick. Tomorrow, I'll start eleventh again but I hope for a completely different result."

Imanol Zubikarai - FR2.0 Team Manager: "Today hasn't been a good day; at least not as good as we expected it to be. Now it is time to analyze what happened and get conclusions out of it. We must work hard and avoid repeating any mistakes if we want to achieve a better result tomorrow."

#15 Albert Costa - 6th: "I am happy for how things ended up like. In this morning's qualifying session I wasn't feeling much confident and, together with the team, we decided to risk and go for a different set up for the race. We went out kind of blind and we weren't sure about what to expect, but I gave a 200% and we managed to finish on the sixth position, scoring points and on the podium again. I learned a lot today and so did the team. Let's hope this will help us to be competitive from minute one tomorrow."

#16 Keisuke Kunimoto - 9th: "I did a pretty average start; the car almost stopped and then the tires slipped. Like if this, added to the position I was starting from, wasn't enough another car hit me from behind at the first chicane. I was worried for the rear suspension and tire to be damaged but luckily it wasn't so bad and I managed to go back on the track and keep a good pace. Safety Car helped me to contact with the group again and, from there, I moved up a few positions. Considering all what happened, scoring two points isn't so bad. However, I really expect tomorrow to be a better day."

Albert Fàbrega - FR3.5 Team Manager: "I am pretty satisfied with today's final result, since this is the first race of the season in which both cars finish within the points. It was a good race. Albert did an extraordinary start and leaving rivals behind as soon as he was catching them up thanks to a fantastic driving. Keisuke did a great race as well and, although he was hit and dropped back, he also managed a good pace and improved positions. This is the EPSILON spirit: never to give up and work tirelessly to overcome any difficulty."

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