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Will storms to maiden Eurocup win in season finale at Estoril

Will Palmer rounded off the 2016 Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 season in stunning style as he scored his maiden success in the category with victory in race one of the weekend (22/23 October) at the Autodromo do Estoril in Portugal.

An early morning downpour left the 2.6-mile circuit damp ahead of the opening Eurocup qualifying session of the weekend, but with an ever drying racing line, times would continue to drop throughout the session.

After building up his speed, Will hooked together a brilliant lap, securing a place on the front-row alongside Lando Norris with a time of 1m48.066s. Such was the 2015 BRDC Formula 4 Champion's pace, he had a gap of nearly half-a-second back to Tech 1 Racing's Sacha Fenestraz in third.

Conditions had improved by the time race one got underway, although the track was still slippery in places meaning any slight error would be punished. As the lights went out, Will made a good start and slotted in behind pole-sitter Norris into the first corner. As the 19-year-old looked to make a move for the lead, the safety car was called upon as James Allen found himself in the gravel.

Racing resumed shortly thereafter and Will was looking comfortable in second place before the safety car was needed once more, bunching the field up yet again. On the restart, Will held off his R-ace GP team-mate Marcus Armstrong but a few laps later, Max Defourny, having worked his way up the order, used the long start/finish straight to take the position off Will.

As the race headed onto its final lap, Will sat just behind the leading duo of Norris and Defourny, ready to pick off either driver as they battled wheel-to-wheel. Heading into turn one, Defourny attempted to pass Norris for the win after the Brit made an error out of the final corner. The pair made contact and Will cut his way through the carnage to take the lead. He saw out the final lap without trouble and took the chequered flag 6.184s clear of his rivals to secure his first win in the Eurocup category.

The second qualifying session of the weekend was a more frustrating affair as Will was unable to set a representative time, with firstly a full course yellow and then a red flag period spoiling his chances of moving up the order and he lined up 14^th for the final race of the season.

Owing to his grid position, Will and his R-ace GP team gambled on slicks on a drying track but the McLaren Autosport BRDC Award lost time in the early laps which proved difficult to recover. Nevertheless, Will displayed his turn of pace as he comfortably set the fastest lap of the race by nearly two seconds. His performance over the course of the weekend saw him take third place in the rookie Eurocup standings in 2016 and finish seventh overall.

Will said: "It feels so great to win a race. The season has been difficult at times, but we have been coming on strong with a podium at Circuit Paul Ricard and now the win! It was a little unexpected, I was lucky with the incident between Lando and Max on the last lap, but it doesn't put a damper on my elation of this first victory."

Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 - Estoril, Portugal - Race One

1. W Palmer, R-ace GP, 15 Laps
2. H de Sadeleer, Tech 1 Racing, +6.184s
3. R Shwartzman, Josef Kaufmann Racing, +6.882s
4. A Peroni, TS Corse, +7.776s
5. D Boccolacci, Tech 1 Racing, +8.581s
6. H Scott, AVF, +9.483s
7. S Fenestraz, Tech 1 Racing, +9.916s
8. B Baptista, Fortec Motorsports, +15.117s
9. M Armstrong, R-ace GP, +15.752s
10. J Daruvala, Josef Kaufmann Racing, +15.998s

Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 - Estoril, Portugal - Race Two

1. S Fenestraz, Tech 1 Racing, 15 Laps
2. L Norris, Josef Kaufmann Racing, +1.964s
3. M Defourny, R-ace GP, +6.323s
4. D Boccolacci, Tech 1 Racing, +11.319s
5. H Chaves, AVF, +15.598s
6. R Shwartzman, Josef Kaufmann Racing, +15.997s
7. H de Sadeleer, Tech 1 Racing, +21.657s
8. H Scott, AVF, +24.058s
9. B Baptista, Fortec Motorsports, +30.975s
22. W Palmer, R-ace GP, +1 Lap

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