Nogaro, France, April 11th 2023 - The Alpine Elf Europa Cup has been a huge hit for the last five years, serving up on-track fun for participants whilst ensuring sporting fairness for all.
There was therefore no reason why things would be any different in its sixth season, which kicked off this weekend with Nogaro’s iconic Coupes de Pâques meeting in the south-west of France. Some eighty drivers turned up for the weekend’s racing, including no fewer than fourteen juniors – under 23 year-old drivers – reflecting the category’s strong reputation for supporting the development of talented young drivers by giving them the chance to take part in top-class racing in a genuine race car. Much was expected, for example, of Matéo Herrero (Herrero Racing), Junior champion in 2019, and Alexis Garcin (Chazel Technologie Course Junior), who claimed his maiden race win last year in heavy rain at Monza, but two other drivers stole the limelight this weekend.
Although Louis Maurice (Code Racing Development) grabbed pole position for the opening contest, the race was actually won by Belgian driver Lorens Lecertua, a rising star at Chazel Technologie Course Junior who has graduated from the French F4 Championship (like Pierre Sancinena and Jean-Baptiste Mela before their success in the Alpine Elf Europa Cup), ahead of Romain Fabre, driving for new team VPS Racing, and Enzo Geraci (Chazel Technologie Course Junior). The following day, Tim Merieux (Autosport GP), on his second season in the series, managed an impressive double: he converted his first pole position into a race win, finishing ahead of Enzo Geraci and Romain Favre, who swapped their positions from race one. This opening contest certainly augurs well for another exciting season in the Alpine Elf Europa Cup, especially as there was close racing to be seen in the Gentlemen Drivers and Challenger categories, where Canal + F1 commentator Julien Fébreau claimed two races wins.
Whilst no dominant driver emerged from this first meeting, there is undoubtedly a bunch of hungry, talented youngsters ready to fight for honours, which suggests that there will be more exciting racing at the next round, held at Magny-Cours on 4-6 May.
