The Belgian Formula Renault 2.0 weekend was supposed to have three races but first one of them was practically cancelled due to morning fog. The race was started behind the safety car and stopped by the red flags without any real start before the half-way through.

The drivers returned to the pit-lane and the results were fixed with the same positions they had at start. Sacha Fenestraz was declared the winner even though he admitted that he could have lost his win because of the exhaust problem if there would be a restart. Robert Shwartzman and Yifei Ye took 2^nd and 3^rd positions. Half points was given for this race.

Second run was held under normal conditions. Fenestraz started from pole but lost his lead to Gabriel Aubry. Later on Max Defourny managed to overtake the championship leader for P2. Josef Kaufmann Racing driver was not disappointed too much as he collected valuable points to stabilize his Eurocup FR 2.0 lead.

Robert Shwartzman finished in fourth position but was handed a 25 seconds penalty for overtaking under the safety car conditions. He had to defend his position from Yifei Ye and Max Defourny when the yellow flags had already neutralized the race. Ye and Defourny overtook not seeing the SC signs while Shwartzman went off-track. Later on he asked his team if he could return back to his position and heard a positive answer. The judges decided otherwise. Therefore, it has been a third penalty in the last four races for the SMP Racing driver. Last time he was stripped of his two wins at Paul Ricard.

R-ace GP won the first Teams championship in its history in Eurocup FR 2.0 category beating the acting champions Josef Kaufmann Racing.

RACE 1 | RACE 2

Sacha Fenestraz (Josef Kaufmann Racing): “It was a pretty easy win this morning, even though I had a small scare with an exhaust problem! I was a little lucky, but it was a little harder this afternoon. I continue to count on consistency in going for the big points in the top five or even the podium in every race. Gabriel took advantage of the draft and I made a mistake when I had the chance to retake the lead. Max then got past me for second place… I really tried to do my best, but it is still positive as the title is concerned.”

Gabriel Aubry (Tech 1 Racing): “It was a really long race! The slipstreaming is incredible on this track and we have to watch our mirrors as soon as we are on the Kemmel straight. Sacha attacked hard from start to finish. I was on the very limit while trying to make as few mistakes as possible. The only way to finish in the top three is to win every race. It is great to be on the top step of the podium! Congratulations to the team for bouncing back after a lacklustre weekend at Circuit Paul Ricard.”

Max Defourny (R-ace GP): “After struggling in qualifying, I didn’t get the best of starts. I made a small tactical error on the first straight where I could’ve attacked. I was able to surprise Yifei when the race resumed, before catching up to and then overtaking Robert and Sacha. It was a fine sequence of moves, but I couldn’t do it again to Gabriel because of a mistake at the chicane on the last lap. Congratulations to the team for its first title in the category, great for them!”

Yifei Ye (Josef Kaufmann Racing): “I had good pace both in practice and qualifying. I was disappointed that the first race was disrupted by fog, because to hand out half points doesn’t help me reduce the gap to Max in the rookie category! It is a shame, but motor racing is sometimes like that… The team did a fantastic job in preparing an excellent car. We will try to do better tomorrow to show the extent of our potential. “

Max Fewtrell (Tech 1 Racing): “It is positive to be at the front of the pack following the complicated weekend the team had at Circuit Paul Ricard. I lost a position to Max at the start, but I was able to get back in passing Yifei at the restart. After that, my pace was good and I was able to close up to the leaders. As we saw today, I think anything is possible on this track. Tomorrow, I will attack to put myself in contention for the podium and the win.”

*Results subject to confirmation following technical and sporting verifications.

Race 2 replay:

Original interviews: Renault Sport