Renault Sport Trophy victories for Pieter Schothorst and Niccolo Nalio 06.09.2015: RENAULT SPORT TROPHY The much-anticipated return of the World Series by Renault to Silverstone

RENAULT SPORT TROPHY




The much-anticipated return of the World Series by Renault to Silverstone concluded with the successes of Niccolò Nalio (Oregon Team) and Pieter Schothorst (Equipe Verschuur) in the Renault Sport Trophy sprint races.


Already a victor on Saturday in the Endurance race, Niccolò Nalio ran the table in winning the Prestige Sprint race ahead of Dario Capitanio (Oregon Team) and Toni Forné (ART Junior Team). The Italian is now two points adrift of leader Diederik Sijthoff (V8 Racing), with Dario Capitanio sandwiched between the two.


In the afternoon in the Elite category, Pieter Schothorst won in his first weekend in the discipline against Indy Dontje (ART Junior Team) and Nicky Pastorelli (V8 Racing). Despite dropping out, his brother Steijn Schothorst (Equipe Verschuur) is still in command of the category with a 28 point lead.


Nalio wins again

On pole position for the Prestige race, Niccolò Nalio held on to the lead in front of Toni Forné, who overtook Dario Capitanio. Stefano Costantini (V8 Racing), Max Braams (V8 Racing) and Diederik Sijthoff, who started ninth.


On lap four, Toni Forné committed an error that allowed Dario Capitanio reclaimed his place. Richard Gonda (ART Junior Team) made a strong run through the field, but his race was cut short on lap six, one lap before Andres Mendez (Zele Racing).


Niccolò Nalio won with a comfortable eight second margin of victory from his team mate Dario Capitanio. Toni Forné was under pressure from Max Braams to hold on to his spot on the podium.


Stefano Costantini was fifth ahead of Diederik Sijthoff, Chris Harris (Monlau Competicion) and Jeroen Schothorst (Equipe Verschuur). Philippe Bourgois (Zele Racing) and Adalberto Baptista (Oregon Team) picked up the final point after the puncture of Antonio Coimbra (Equipe Verschuur).


Dutch triple in Elite

After securing the pole for the Elite Sprint race, Pieter Schothorst held on to the lead while Steijn Schothorst and Luciano Bacheta (Oregon Team) finished their races in the gravel trap at Copse.


After the intervention of the safety car, Pieter Schothorst kept Indy Dontje and David Fumanelli (Oregon Team) at bay. Nicky Pastorelli surprised David Fumanelli on lap four. Behind them, a feisty group saw Andrea Pizzitola (ART Junior Team) overtake Bas Schothorst (Zele Racing) for fifth place.


Race leader, Pieter Schothorst went on for the win ahead of fellow Dutchmen Indy Dontje and Nicky Pastorelli, who held off the attacks coming from Andrea Pizzitola, who had overtaken David Fumanelli on the penultimate lap of the race.


Bas Schothorst finished sixth ahead of Paul-Loup Chatin (Monlau Competicion), Alan Hellmeister (Oregon Team), Vittorio Ghirelli (Zele Racing) and Archie Hamilton (V8 Racing)


Quotes


Niccolò Nalio: “This has been a perfect weekend. Qualifying went splendidly with the pole then the win in Endurance with Luciano. The car was very good all meeting long. We did not start the season like we would have liked, but we are now back on top and we will battle just until the very end of the season.”


Pieter Schothorst: “This win is a good result. After the start, I looked in my mirrors and I was disappointed for my brother. It is really special to race against him. Since we got our start, there has always been competition between us and we are now in the same team we make each other faster and it went very well for me today!”



Provisional General Classification Endurance provisoire* : 1. Fumanelli/Capitanio – 61 points, 2. Bacheta/Nalio – 55, 3. Reip – 37, 4. Dontje/Forne – 33, 5. Pizzitola/Gonda – 30…


Provisional General Classification Elite * : 1. S. Schothorst – 75 points, 2. A. Pizzitola – 55, 2. W. Reip – 45, 4. V. Ghirelli – 35, 5. I. Dontje – 31…


Provisional General Classification Prestige * : 1. D. Sijthoff – 70 points, 2. D. Capitanio – 69, 3. N. Nalio – 68, 4. T. Forné – 60, 5. M. Braams – 56…



*Subject to confirmation of the results following the technical and sporting verifications

- Blanca de Foronda, photos Renault