Monza racetrack, Saturday, April 23rd, 2016, 1:25 pm: Dorian Boccolacci crossed the line as the winner of Race 1 of the FR 2.0 North European Cup. The victory, the only motivation for the French driver, was rapid recognition his talent and efforts. For Simon Abadie's Tech 1 Racing team, it's also a great satisfaction at the start of its first full season in the NEC. Dorian is now leading the drivers championship and Tech 1 Racing is leading the ranking of the teams.

Naturally delighted to find the way to victory, Dorian remains focused on his longer-term objective and the developments which should enable him to reach it: "I was already satisfied with our overall performance at the Eurocup at Motorland, but the second race of the season reinforced my motivation. At Monza we confirmed the performance of the car and the excellent work by the team. However, I am aware that I need to improve my performance during Qualifying, because that is where much of the final result is decided. I set the 3rd time in Q1 when I probably had the potential to get pole. I know what I have to do!"

After the learning about the behaviour of his Formula Renault 2.0 on the famous Italian Monza circuit during the first free practice session, Dorian was already at the top of the rankings for the second session. 3rd with some regrets in the first qualifying session, he was on the second row in the second session before break with a red flag and could do no better than 6th in the short period remaining after the restart, his tyre usage policy thwarted.

With a good position on the starting grid for Race 1, Dorian went on the offensive early on. 2nd on the first lap, he attacked in the wake of the leader with a superb outside pass and seized the lead from the second lap. He then increased the lead despite some rain and got his first win of the year over 3s ahead of his rivals.

6th in Race 2, Dorian knew that things would be more complicated. He locked up at the lights and could not reasonably do anything to avoid losing two places on the first lap. "It was too risky to try to fight at the start, especially as I followed one of my teammates. I preferred to consolidate and then go on the attack. The car was perfect and I was able to begin my ascent with the fastest time of the race. I joined Norris on the last lap having gained 4'', but I could not pass him before the chequered flag and I had to settle for 5th place by 6/100. This again shows the importance of Qualifying..."

The second competition of the season confirmed Dorian Boccolacci's potential in FR 2.0 with Tech 1 Racing. Developments since the meeting at Motorland were already noticeable, but the driver is far from being fully satisfied. A perfectionist, he will now be working towards further progress in management skills to target more victories.

The next race is in Great Britain at Silverstone from 13th to 15th May for the second round of the NEC before the much awaited Eurocup round in Monaco.

© Photo Klaas Norg / Dutch Photo Agency