BhaiTech Racing takes first win of 2020 at Hockenheim
Lorenzo Colombo scored BhaiTech Racing’s first Formula Renault Eurocup win at Hockenheim. The Italian squad made its debut last season intending to provide a step for the drivers who grew up in Formula 4 in the last few seasons. Colombo himself, was among the drivers who had brought BhaiTech Racing to the Italian F4 team title in 2017.
The all-Italian combination, which got back together during the winter, saw Colombo bring on board the experience of the last couple of Formula Renault seasons, becoming a key part of the car development process. After a few technical issues that slowed down the proceedings at the beginning of the year, the results started to come with two third places at Nurburgring and Imola, with the team scoring its first pole of the year at the Italian venue. Unfortunatelu, an inconclusive PCR test forced Colombo to sit out of practice at Hockenheim and he arrived at the circuit only on Friday night. In qualifying 1, he could not do better than P14 in what was actually his first contact with the German venue. In race 1 though, he fought back up to P5, showing great pace. Then, on Sunday, Colombo had no rivals. After scoring pole in qualifying 2, he went on to take the win with the fastest lap of the race. The impressive hat-trick handed BhaiTech Racing its first win in the series.
Rookies László Tóth and Nicola Marinangeli delivered good performances too. The Italian impressed with two brilliant starts which saw him gain several positions up to the verge of the points zone. Tóth had a convincing pace, taking P11 in the first race, just two seconds away from the top-10. In race 2, the Hungarian racer was delayed by an unscheduled stop to replace his front wing, damaged by a piece of debris during the opening lap.
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Nicolò Gaglian, Team Manager
“It has been an extremely positive weekend, despite a really bad start due to an inconclusive PCR test that prevented Colombo from taking part in Friday's free practice. He only managed to get to the track for qualifying and struggled in the first session, but he clearly recovered his form in race 1, showing his full potential and then handing us our maiden Formula Renault win in the second race. In addition, some team members tested positive before the weekend, so we ran with a limited staff, but we managed such a difficult situation to perfection. I am also happy with the progress shown by Tóth and Marinangeli throughout the weekend. We only have a few days to prepare for the final round of the championship at Le Castellet, where we hope to end up with another great result".
Lorenzo Colombo, Pilota
"I arrived at Hockenheim one day after the other drivers due to an inconclusive Covid-test, which I had to repeat. It eventually came back negative which enabled me to enter the event. Without free practice, it was difficult to adapt to the car and I didn't go beyond a P14 in qualifying. In race 1, however, I immediately picked up the pace and, lap after lap, and I climbed up to the seventh position. In Q2, I capitalized on the experience gained on Saturday, posting my second pole of the season. At the start of the second race I made a small mistake, but then I got my focus back immediately and went on to win! I thank the whole team for the enormous work and Renault for letting me participate in the event after having skipped free practice and technical scrutineering. "
László Tóth, Pilota
“It was a difficult weekend for us but we made some improvements from Friday to Sunday in terms of the lap times. Qualifying on Saturday wasn’t too bad and I was close to finish in the points in the race, ending up two seconds short when the chequered flag came. Qualifying on Sunday was the same as it was on Saturday and then at the start of the second race, I had some wheelspin which cost me a position. After that, although I wasn’t involved in the crash in front of me,some kind of debris hit my car and I had to drive back to the pits for a new front wing. We made the change, but the car had some other kind of damage at the bottom so I didn’t had the pace to fight for a better position.”
Nicola Marinangeli, Pilota
“I felt quite comfortable on a track I had never raced on before. Even if the time available in the testing was not much, I could improve myself significantly, even scoring good sector times. My foot is improving a lot, but it's not in perfect shape yet. In race 1 I recovered until the verge of the points zone, but contact thwarted any chance of finishing in the top ten. I hope to be in a better physical conditions for the next event at Circuit Paul Ricard”.