Session reports from day two of the first round of the 2020 VERS season from the Pau Street Circuit in France. Alexandre Francois took the honours yesterday after jumping pole-sitter Spencer James off the line. The pair once again line-up on the front row, but can the Jamaican this time fend off the home favourite before the reverse grid race three. Race TwoJames once again led the field away, but not for long as François once again put pressure on the Jamaican, eventually managing to get past with a bold move into the Pont Oscar corner. Behind them however, rookie Holst suffered a poor get-away, getting overtaken by Cardoso and Eskola as his inexperience showed. Souza was unlucky to suffer a poor start, dropping down five spots. Meanwhile, Parker Jordan’s Johnstone Engineering car was left badly damaged after a trip into the ever ruthless Pau barriers put the Brit out of the race, putting an end to a poor race overall. However, unlike Race 1, the action did not stop! François’ excellent start to the race was to no avail as his car’s gearbox dramatically gave up the ghost, the Frenchman clearly frustrated as he climbed out of his stricken vehicle. Further down the order, Seppanen joined the ever-growing list of retirements, as his car suffered unfortunate hydraulic issues. This left Spencer James back in the provisional lead, but not for long as he was overtaken by Eskola and Cardoso, before getting caught out on the bumpy surface of the track, losing the car and smashing into the barriers! It was a sad end to a promising race. The midfield was as exciting as ever, with fierce battles and drivers looking to make up lost ground, such as Holst and Souza, both slicing their way through the field in brilliant recovery drives. The race, however, was not decided yet, as Eskola led Cardoso in what looked to be an exciting battle for the win. In the dying stages of the race, Cardoso desperately lunged at Eskola into Buisson, making the move stick and winning a dramatic race 2 in Pau! Eskola came home a disappointing second, albeit with the fastest lap. Kozlowski finished an astonishing third after starting eleventh, a fantastic race from him. Following them were Holst, who was happy to recover lost ground at the start, Brandt, Veskila, Ziegler, McCarthy, Bateson, Garcia, Souza and Axelsson rounding off the points-paying positions. Souza was unlucky to suffer a spin late on in the race from a competitive position. Race ThreeThe final race of the opening weekend featured a reverse grid for the top 10, meaning Garcia started the race on pole-position. They all got away well, but the standout was Veskila, who judged the start to perfection, jumping all the way from fifth to second by turn 1, before making a crucial move on race leader Garcia into the Parc Beaumont corner. Further back, last race winner Cardoso moved up a few places, while runner up Eskola had a poor start, dropping one spot. James started well, but yet another unlucky moment for the Jamaican saw him out of the running with a terminally-ill engine. Souza also retired after a mistake saw him out of the running as well. As the race wore on, Veskila looked ever in control, building a sizable gap to second place as he nailed the tight and twisty corners of Pau. Ziegler would eventually pass Garcia to claim second place, Garcia not looking too comfortable out there as she dropped back with every lap. Daniels once again suffered some bad luck, this time misjudging the hairpin and smacking into the barriers. The race claimed one more driver before the end, as Axelsson suffered an unfortunate late race spin, stalling his car. In the end it was a comfortable victory and fastest lap for Veskila, with Ziegler coming home in second and Brandt in third. Eskola was on fire in the closing stages of the race, scything his way past the field with daring moves to secure fourth place, and the championship lead. Behind him were Kozlowski, McCarthy, a disappointed Garcia, Cardoso, Bateson and Jordan rounding out the top ten. StandingsIt’s Eskola who leads the championship then, with a decent seven point gap to race 3 winner Veskila in second, making it an Estonian 1-2. Kozlowski sits third with excellent consistency and race 1 winner François was disappointed with not scoring any more points after this win. Beales, Jarvinen, Luga and Daniels are the only ones yet to score. We would like to thank you for your time, and we look forward to seeing you next time out in Brands Hatch for round 2!
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