The experienced Mikhail Aleshin and rookie Nathanael Berthon traded Formula Renault 3.5 Series wins at Magny-Cours at the weekend.
Carlin driver Aleshin took race 1 victory after an entertaining battle with in-form Argentinian Esteban Guerrieri who started from pole position but was passed by the Russian on lap 13.
In wet conditions Aleshin proceeded to control the race from the front and pulled away to a near 15-second victory.
Guerrieri held off Comtec Racing’s Stefano Coletti to claim second place, but admitted he was struggling with the ISR team’s low downforce set up in the wet conditions.
Junior Lotus Racing’s Nelson Panciatici enjoyed a strong race at his home track to take fourth, despite a trip through the gravel at Chateau d'Eau.
Daniel Zampieri was fifth, the Italian driver thriving in the wet to work his way up from 16th, with Daniel Ricciardo sixth ahead of Sten Pentus, Albert Costa, Berthon and Jon Lancaster.
Berthon took his maiden FR 3.5 victory in race 2 after an intense battle with Ricciardo in what was a chaotic race in which a shower before the start caught out several teams and resulted in multiple drivethrough penalties for changing tyres on the grid.
Filip Salaquarda completed the podium for ISR, while Aleshin, who had fought with Berthon early on before a mistake sent him through the gravel at the hairpin, extended his points lead in fourth.
Costa took fifth near the end of the race after Guerrieri suffered a problem that dropped him to ninth, while Bruno Mendez’s gamble on slick tyres at the start paid off as the European F3 Open champion climbed from 22nd to sixth at the finish.
Formula Renault 3.5 Series results – Round 5, Magny-Cours
Race 1
1 Mikhail Aleshin, Carlin, 47:06.881
2 Esteban Guerrieri, ISR, +14.891
3 Stefano Coletti, Comtec Racing, +16.918
4 Nelson Panciatici, Junior Lotus Racing, +24.776
5 Daniel Zampieri, Pons Racing, +37.663
6 Daniel Ricciardo, Tech 1 Racing, +42.897
7 Sten Pentus, Fortec Motorsport, +43.942
8 Albert Costa, Epsilon Euskadi, +1:04.189
9 Nathanael Berthon, Draco Racing, +1:16.258
10 Jon Lancaster, Fortec Motorsport, +1:20.780
11 Anton Nebylitskiy, KMP Racing, +1:23.053
12 Daniil Move, Junior Lotus Racing, +1:24.004
13 Jake Rosenzweig, Carlin, +1:36.968
14 Bruno Mendez, FHV Interwetten.com Racing, +1:50.788
15 Filip Salaquarda, ISR, +1 lap
16 Keisuke Kunimoto, Epsilon Euskadi, +1 lap
17 Sergio Canamasas, FHV Interwetten.com Racing, +1 lap
18 Greg Mansell, Comtec Racing, +1 lap
19 Victor Garcia, KMP Racing, +3 laps
Not classified
Jan Charouz, P1 Motorsport, 21 laps
Federico Leo, Pons Racing, 16 laps
Julian Leal, Draco Racing, 14 laps
Walter Grubmuller, P1 Motorsport, 10 laps
Brendon Hartley, Tech 1 Racing, 0 laps
Race 2
1 Mikhail Aleshin, Carlin, 47:06.881
2 Esteban Guerrieri, ISR, +14.891
3 Stefano Coletti, Comtec Racing, +16.918
4 Nelson Panciatici, Junior Lotus Racing, +24.776
5 Daniel Zampieri, Pons Racing, +37.663
6 Daniel Ricciardo, Tech 1 Racing, +42.897
7 Sten Pentus, Fortec Motorsport, +43.942
8 Albert Costa, Epsilon Euskadi, +1:04.189
9 Nathanael Berthon, Draco Racing, +1:16.258
10 Jon Lancaster, Fortec Motorsport, +1:20.780
11 Anton Nebylitskiy, KMP Racing, +1:23.053
12 Daniil Move, Junior Lotus Racing, +1:24.004
13 Jake Rosenzweig, Carlin, +1:36.968
14 Bruno Mendez, FHV Interwetten.com Racing, +1:50.788
15 Filip Salaquarda, ISR, +1 lap
16 Keisuke Kunimoto, Epsilon Euskadi, +1 lap
17 Sergio Canamasas, FHV Interwetten.com Racing, +1 lap
18 Greg Mansell, Comtec Racing, +1 lap
19 Victor Garcia, KMP Racing, +3 laps
Not classified
Jan Charouz, P1 Motorsport, 21 laps
Federico Leo, Pons Racing, 16 laps
Julian Leal, Draco Racing, 14 laps
Walter Grubmuller, P1 Motorsport, 10 laps
Brendon Hartley, Tech 1 Racing, 0 laps
Championship Standings (after 5 rounds)
1 Mikhail Aleshin, 75pts
2 Daniel Ricciardo, 66
3 Esteban Guerrieri, 58
4 Sten Pentus, 44
5 Nathanael Berthon, 43
6 Stefano Coletti, 42
7 Brendon Hartley, 40
8 Albert Costa, 36
9 Daniel Zampieri, 30
10 Jon Lancaster, 24
Next round: 7 July, Hungaroring
Watch World Series by Renault highlights from Magny-Cours on Monday 28 June at 9:15pm (BST) on Motors TV.
Andy Wilkinson
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