Lotus Cup Europe Dijon-Prenois

Among the record entry of 41 cars taking to the Dijon-Prenois circuit for qualifying at round one of the Lotus Cup Europe season, there were plenty of new faces. One of these was veteran racer Rémi Pochauvin, a man with Le Mans starts to his name, and he left the circuit on Sunday with Pole Position and two wins. These were by no means easy pickings, as he was chased hard in both races.

In the opener, brothers John and Gregory Rasse kept up the pressure for the duration, with the former leading most of the race. Unfortunately he wasn't in front when it counted but the resultant podium featuring a 2-Eleven, Exige and one of two Evoras in the field reflected the variety on offer.

Phillipe Loup claimed the runner-up slot in the second encounter, taking the place from John Rasse late in the proceedings. With Gregory's Evora a little troubled in this race, Christophe Lisandre was best of the rest in fourth, a position claimed by Great Britain's Steve Williams first time around.

Amongst the 36 cars racing, Rob Fenn picked up a class win in his Motorsport Elise but father David took over in the second and was the innocent party in contact following on from a spin by a backmarker, leaving Xavier Georges in a Gulf-coloured Exige to run unchallenged. The Production class wins were claimed by Jose Vaslin and Nigel Ayres, who were inseparable throughout the weekend.

Round two of the 2010 Lotus Cup Europe will take place at Magny-Cours, on 14-15 May.