Dan Ticktum arrived in Monaco for the fourth round of the Formula Renault Eurocup season hoping to make an impression on the historic street circuit – and with two trophies to his name, he certainly did.
With only a short testing session on Thursday, Dan proved early in the weekend that he could tackle the tight corners of Monaco and was able to carry some serious speed around the unfamiliar track.
He carried this speed into the weekend’s only Qualifying round on Friday, coming P2 in his group by a couple of tenths.
Carrying over a two-place grid penalty from his last race in Pau, Dan started Race 1 from P5 on the grid. He had a good getaway but Verschoor jumped him at the start of the race. Dan pushed hard throughout the race but he was unable to recover the position around the narrow streets of Monte Carlo, finishing P6. However, after the race Verschoor received a ten-second grid penalty for a jump start, promoting Dan to P5 and best Rookie.
Race 2’s starting grid switched Group A and B’s Qualifying results from Thursday with Dan starting from P4.
Dan kept his cool at the beginning of Race 2, maintaining P4 and holding off Defourny. It was a tense battle between the British and Belgian drivers but halfway through the race Defourny carried more speed into the tunnel and Dan had to concede his position. He kept pushing to recover the place but an incident brought out the safety car until the end of the race, ending the battle. Dan finished P5 and took home his second top Rookie trophy of the weekend.
Dan Ticktum: “After inheriting fifth place and the win in the rookie category yesterday, I was able to do it again without any intervention. It matches my goal to be the best newcomer and first among the Red Bull drivers.
“We are really getting somewhere and I feel that I am driving well and making good use of the car. There is a lot to look forward to at the next races. An amazing weekend all round, I loved it.”
The next round of the Formula Renault Eurocup will take place at the Hungaroring from 30 June – 2 July.
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