Gilles Magnus will head into the season finale of the Formula Renault 2.0 Northern European Cup with a slender advantage in the championship standings after a double victory at Spa-Francorchamps, although his participation in the final race of the weekend was placed firmly in doubt by a race two crash.
With the NEC drivers joining the Eurocup field at Spa, he headed the quintet of drivers eligible for points in the foggy opener, and although the race was held completely behind the safety car, he was awarded half points for victory none-the-less.
The R-ace GP driver then lost control of his car on the opening lap of race two at Raidillon, destroying his car and requiring a trip to the medical centre, but after extensive repairs from his team overnight and clearance from officials in Belgium to race, he took victory on Sunday morning to jump team-mate Michael Benyahia in the championship standings heading into the Hockenheimring next month.
“I thought I wouldn’t be driving today, because the car was completely destroyed and I wasn’t sure if I would be fit enough after the accident yesterday, but we drove the race and won the race which was amazing,” said Magnus.
“I drove a calm race, I let the Eurocup guys past because I just wanted to take the points for the NEC championship. It’s been a special weekend.”
