FR 3.5 – Magnussen beats the rain at Spa

Si Kevin Magnussen (Carlin) had failed to translate his pole in Race 1 into a good result, the Dane repeated his performance in qualifying for Race 2 to this time win. The Dane did not have an easy task with heavy showers falling all day on the Belgian Ardennes circuit. The Carlin driver managed to maintain his position advantage at the start (given under safety car regime) ahead of Robin Frijns (Fortec Motorsports) and Jules Bianchi (Tech 1 Racing), who had moved up one position following the penalty imposed on Sam Bird (ISR) for insufficient fuel during qualifying. Lewis Williamson (Arden Caterham) recovered fourth place at the start of the race from Nick Yellloly (Comtec Racing).

If Robin Frijns took advantage of the pit stops to take the lead of the race following a stubborn wheel causing Kevin Magnussen to lose time, the Dane recovered his due at the Virage des Combes. Following a spectacular accident where Richie Stanaway (Lotus) glided following contact with Carlos Huertas (Fortec Motorsports), the red flag was displayed. Jules Bianchi lost everything at the restart by getting stuck on the grid while Nick Yelloly took over Robin Frijns. But the good operation came from Sam Bird who took fifth place behind Nico Müller (International Draco Racing) while he started from the last position on the grid following his penalty. The winner of the Monaco round retains the lead in the Championship with nine points ahead of Robin Frijns. The French are less celebrating since the Force India reserve driver only takes 17th place while his compatriot Arthur Pic (Dams) has to be content with 22nd position.

Discover the report of the World Series by Renault in Spa-Francorchamps produced by our special correspondent in the next issue of AUTOhebdo, available from Tuesday in digital version for iPad, PC and Mac, and from Wednesday on newsstands.