Formula V8 3.5

Vaxiviere profits from Dillmann spin for first SMP win

2 Mins read
Matthieu Vaxiviere - Credit: Formula V8 3.5

Matthieu Vaxiviere made it six different winners in six races as he took advantage of a mistake from his countryman Tom Dillmann to claim victory in race two at a very wet Spa-Francorchamps on Sunday.

Only eight drivers saw the chequered flag in a race blighted by incidents, with the race beginning behind the safety car due to heavy rain and being interrupted by it again following a two-car crash at Eau Rouge.

Dillmann initially led away at the start once the safety car withdrew from the track at the end of lap three, with Roy Nissany and Aurélien Panis tentatively following in his spray.

The complexion of the race changed during the pit stop window, with the safety car being deployed when Nissany, on his out lap following his pit stop, was hit by Johnny Cecotto Jr of RP Motorsport as the duo headed into Eau Rouge, with both hitting the barriers hard, although both were apparently unhurt from the incident.

Three drivers had already departed the race at that point, with Louis Deletraz retiring at La Source on the opening green flag lap having already found himself at the back of the field when his Fortec Motorsports car stalled on the grid, while Egor Orudzhev crashed in the pit lane and Matevos Isaakyan was also eliminated.

When the safety car left the circuit again, Dillmann was again in the lead, but a spin at Les Combes as the AVF driver found a pocket of water that turned him around, losing the lead to Vaxiviere, who did not look back to claim his first win of the season and the first in the championship for SMP Racing.

Vaxiviere did suffer a scare on the lap after Dillmann spun, hitting the same patch of water but being able to maintain his position on track, and he eventually took the chequered flag 6.268s clear.

Alfonso Celis Jr drove a strong race to make it to AVF drivers on the podium, 10.277s behind Vaxiviere, while Vitor Baptista secured his best result of the season for RP Motorsport in fourth.

Panis was forced to take his pit stop just as the second safety car period ended, as did Rene Binder of Lotus, meaning they lost a lot of time in comparison to those who made their stops before the Nissany/Cecotto Jr crash. Panis finished fifth for Arden Motorsport, with Binder sixth.

Yu Kanamaru was seventh for Teo Martin Motorsport, while the final finisher was Giuseppe Cipriani, who scored point for the second day running for the Durango Racing Team.

Beitske Visser was forced to stop her Teo Martin Motorsport car at pit exit three laps before the end, while Fortec Motorsports’ Pietro Fittipaldi was also forced to end his race early.

Spa-Francorchamps Race 2 Result

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