Formula V8 3.5

Orudzhev holds off Dillmann for first 2016 triumph

1 Mins read
Egor Orudzhev - Credit: Formula V8 3.5

Egor Orudzhev held off the challenge of Tom Dillmann to secure his first victory of the 2016 Formula V8 3.5 series season, and thus became the fifth different winner in five races this year.

Orudzhev took the lead into the first corner from Arden Motorsport team-mate Aurélien Panis, and was under almost constant pressure from Dillmann, especially through the second sector of the lap due to the different downforce levels the two drivers utilised.

Whereas Orudzhev used a low downforce set-up to enable him to be quicker down the straights, AVF driver Dillmann used a medium downforce, meaning that in that second, slower sector, he had the advantage.

The two drivers switched positions on lap fifteen, with Orudzhev running wide at the La Source hairpin at the start of the lap, allowing Dillmann into the lead, but the lower downforce on Orudzhev’s car allowed him to get back ahead on the run down to Les Combes.

Louis Deletraz completed the podium in third for Fortec Motorsports, and kept a watching brief of the front two, with the Renault Sport Academy driver claiming his fifth straight rookie victory as a result.

Yu Kanamaru equalled his best finish of the season in fourth for Teo Martin Motorsport, with Rene Binder fifth for Lotus ahead of Vitor Baptista, who enjoyed his best result of the year since moving up into the championship as the 2015 EuroFormula Open champion.

Baptista took advantage of a last lap collision between Johnny Cecotto Jr and Pietro Fittipaldi to take sixth, with the Venezuelan and Brazilian drivers retiring from the race and failing to score points.

Beitske Visser also took advantage of the Cecotto/Fittipaldi crash to take seventh ahead of Panis, while Gentleman racer Giuseppe Cipriani secured his first points of the year with ninth for the Durango Racing Team ahead of Alfonso Celis Jr, who lost a lot of time in the early stages of the race.

As well as Cecotto Jr and Fittipaldi, Matthieu Vaxiviere and Roy Nissany also failed to see the chequered flag, while Matevos Isaakyan completed a bad day for SMP Racing by crashing out before the race had even begun.

Spa-Francorchamps Race 1 Result

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