As these four edge away, the chasing pack will be doing all it can at the Nurburging to close the gap - and a comprehensive chasing pack it is! Just twenty points cover Eric Salignon in fifth to Mikhail Aleshin in 12th.
All of these drivers, including Salignon, Ben Hanley, James Rossiter,
Sebastian Vettel, Davide Valsecchi, Sean McIntosh, Alx Danielsson, Christian Montanari and Aleshin have all shown race winning pace at some stage this season, although one of these will not have the chance to act upon it this weekend.
Indeed, with experience of the Nurburgring from competing in the Formula Three Euro Series, Vettel would have gone into the race as one of the favourites for victory. As it happens, an accident at Spa saw his finger severed off, although surgery luckily reattached it. However, he will be out for several weeks while it heals.
His place at Carlin will therefore be taken by Adrian Zaugg, the
Red Bull Junior driver making the step up from Formula Renault Italia 2000, a championship the South African claimed a sixth place finish in last year.
He will not be the only newcomer on the grid however as Carlos Iaconelli’s move to Comtec to replace the Eurocup Megane Trophy committed Jaap Van Lagen, has freed up a space at Eurointernational, one that has been duly claimed by Spanish Formula Three driver Marcos Martinez.
With the championship heading into its second half, the trip to Germany could well prove the pivotal point in the series, but with little to choose between the drivers, it remains to be seen who will be ‘lord of the ring’.
![Borja Garcia - RC Motorsport [pic credit: Renault Sport media]](http://pix.crash.net/thumbs/236819.jpg)
