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Radical Masters: Hungaroring, 21/22 August 2010
23rd August 2010
Radical newcomer Christian Kronegard took a surprise win in his first-ever Radical Masters event at the Hungaroring, Hungary this weekend, with Bell-End Racing’s Jamie Patterson scooping the honours in Race 2.
RACE 1
With Radical France’s Frederic Rouvier on pole, the field all got away cleanly into the first corner, this race is the first time that Radical has visited the Budapest-based track. However, Jaap Bartels’ brief spin lead to contact with Greg Hart and Jassim Al Shamsi, scrambling the safety car for three laps.
Kronegard started from third on the grid in his Slim Racing SR8, but the Nordic Formula Renault ace immediately began to apply pressure on the leader, with 360 Racing’s Ross Kaiser also rapidly heading up the order from a fifth-placed start.
Another driver having a strong run was Hubert Haupt, sharing an SR8 LM this weekend with Joachim Thyssen. More famous for his exploits in DTM, Haupt is another newcomer to Radical competition, but acquainted himself in fine style with a clean run to the pitstop, allowing Thyssen to emerge in the race lead with a healthy margin.
Despite Thyssen’s pace, Kronegard and Woodward were hot on his heels, passing Thyssen with only a few laps to go. Woodward’s late charge closed the gap to only eight seconds by the time the chequered flag fell, after a tense 21-lap race.
Just outside the podium, Radical Italy’s Andrea Fausti and Marco Cencetti once again impressed as the first Supersport Class runners home, 20 seconds ahead of privateer Colin Noble. Tranzpower’s duo, Peter Osborn and Alex Kapadia, finished third in class, with 34 of 38 cars completing the race.
RACE 2
2009 Supersports Class Champion, Radical UAE’s Jordan Grogor, took the #1 spot on the grid for Race 2, with Woodward lining up alongside for the long run into Turn 1. Grogor made the fastest getaway, but Jamie Patterson (out of Race 1) had a point to prove, and was quickly on the tail of the leading pack from a mid-grid starting position, passing Grogor for the lead.
Haupt proved that his Race 1 performance wasn’t a one-off, rising from P12 to P4 in a handful of laps. A brief safety car period allowed him to close the gap to Grogor, passing him thereafter for the final podium spot.
Woodward had being going well, but unfortunately dropped down the order after a lengthy pit stop for a driveshaft change. With Haupt promoted to second as a result, Race 1 winner Kronegard took third place overall.
In the Supersports Class, it was very much a repeat of Race 1, with Fausti and Cencetti again the victors, ahead of Osborn and Kapadia, much closer this time with only two seconds splitting the cars. Colin Noble rounded out the Supersports podium places.
The next round of the Radical Masters sees the series coming home, to Silverstone in the UK. This is the first time that Radical has contested the new Arena circuit layout, so should prove a real challenge.
