World Series By Renault - Moscow Race Report

Lotus WSR loses out on Russian Roulette

Sixth place for Marco Sørensen on Saturday was the only result that befell the Lotus team in Russia as the World Series by Renault made its debut at Moscow Raceway.

Sørensen set the second fastest time in the Saturday’s qualifying, just 52,000 of a second behind pole-sitter Robin Frijns. Lotus team-mate Cesar Ramos started 17th.

Race 1 was delayed for a few minutes due a temporary blackout. Sørensen kept his focus all the time and maintained second after the start. He started to push Frijns hard and went offline when attacking, spinning on the marbles. He still managed to finish sixth, the second best rookie result of the day. Ramos had problems with gearshifting and retired on Lap 6.

Sunday started again with qualifying in the morning and Marco Sørensen posted the P2 time once more. Cesar Ramos managed a good lap that secured him fifth on the grid.

Sadly, it was a premature Race 2 result for the Lotus pair. Sørensen made a great start and pushed polesitter Jules Bianchi. Turn 4, however, ended all hopes as Sørensen collided with Sam Bird and team-mate Ramos. All three drivers had to retire on the spot.

Czech team Lotus is still fourth in the team classification while Marco Sørensen holds the same position in the drivers’ championship. Cesar Ramos still waits for the first points of the season.

The next round of the World Series by Renault takes place at Silverstone from 24th till 26th of August.

Cesar Ramos: “It’s a shame, because we had started the race very well. However, it’s racing, and you never know what can happen. I’m really happy about the pace we had in Moscow. I would like to thank everyone in the team for their job.”

Marco Sørensen : “I have to admit that I feel a bit disappointed. We really had the speed to be in front, unfortunately we needed the luck. The whole team has done a good job this weekend and I thank them for their effort.”

Bob Vavík: “We have again showed in qualifying that we did not lack speed in Russia. Unfortunately, these things happen. I think that it was a classic racing incident although some may have a different view. Quite a few times we’ve lost a solid batch of points and it could be costly by the end of the season. We have a long break now and we are going to use the time for preparation for the demanding final part of the season.”