Jazeman Jaafar continued his strong start to the 2015 Formula Renault 3.5 Series season at Spa-Francorchamps, but could not retain his championship lead.
The Malaysian Fortec Motorsports driver finished a strong second in race one on Saturday behind Matthieu Vaxiviere after passing Nicholas Latifi, but was forced to start race two from the back of the grid on Sunday when his car failed post-qualifying scrutineering.
Despite this setback, he had a strong race, climbing to eighth place by the end of the first lap and finally finishing sixth.
“It’s been a bit of a rollercoaster really,” revealed Jaafar. “I started the weekend with a bit of a low, bounced back and got back on top, then had a great race to stand on the podium for a second race in a row.
“After another great qualifying I felt I could hold on to my championship lead, but then my hopes were dashed with the news that I was having to start at the back. I really thought it would be impossible to get into the points from there, but I just got stuck in and used every opportunity I had to move up the field.
“It was a great feeling to go from 20th to 8th in one lap! I had a great car this weekend, so I had the pace to get back in the fight, but there were times out on track when I was so near the edge, it was exhilarating, exciting, adrenalin-fuelled racing.”
Despite his strong performances, Jaafar slipped to third in the standings, eight points behind his team-mate and new championship leader Oliver Rowland.
