Western Australian driver Daniel Ricciardo has won his second race in the 2010 Formula Renault 3.5 Series taking the chequered flag at the Hungaroring.

Starting from pole Ricciardo led from start to finish. The victory now moves the young Aussie to within six points of Mikhail Aleshin who was second.

Sten Pentus finished third, despite the best efforts of New Zealand’s Brendon Hartley.

With a track temperature of 46°C, the hot conditions suited the young Aussie perfectly.

“It was very hot, but having grown up in Australia certainly helped me today. Coming two days after my 21st birthday this is an important win. I had the support of my family who are here today.” he said.

Ricciardo started on pole for the fifth time this season, ahead of Mikhail Aleshin and Brendon Hartley . The Australian took command of the race from the start, leading his Russian rival into the first turn. Sten Pentus made a successful getaway, ousting Brendon Hartley from 3rd place in the first metres of the race.

Things were more hectic in the peloton with the retirement of both International Draco Racing cars and Federico Leo (Pons Racing).

Ricciardo pulled away to a strong early lead, but when Sergio Canamasas spun his car, to bring out the safety car all the hard work was undone.

At the restart, Aleshin tried his luck, but Ricciardo again held him at bay.

Jan Charouz (P1 Motorsport) and Albert Costa (Epsilon Euskadi) moved up the field. Having started 16th on the grid, the Spaniard was up to eighth, behind the Czech driver in seventh. They even went 6th and 7th respectively, following a drive-through penalty imposed on Anton Nebylitskiy (KMP Racing) for non-compliance with the racing line.

The gap between Ricciardo and Aleshin stabilised at around six seconds. Third place was still in the balance between Pentus and Hartley. The New Zealander looked for the opening, but the Estonian stood his ground unperturbed.

The duels were developing all through the field. Albert Costa overtook Jan Charouz to take 6th place, while Daniel Zampieri (Pons Racing), in eighth place, was having a tough time containing the onslaught of Victor Garcia (KMP Racing) and Greg Mansell (Comtec Racing) who had started 19th on grid. Mansell unfortunately ended his splendid comeback in the gravel after a collision with Victor Garcia.

After taking his first win in Monaco, Ricciardo celebrated victory for a second time after dominating the race from start to finish. He comes back to within six points of Aleshin, but with another race tomorrow (Sunday) and more hot weather expected this round is not over yet.

With: WSR Media