Mixed fortunes at Spa-Francorchamps

Chris Dittmann Racing left the iconic Spa-Francorchamps with mixed feelings having joined an invitational grid of single seaters for the Summer Classic. Bad luck hit Cian Carey before qualifying, engine failure ended his weekend after practice.

Team manager Chris Dittmann made his second on-track appearance of the season and again found success, securing a brace of second-place finishes ahead of a strong 30-car field. Having spent much of qualifying on provisional pole, he was bumped to second on the grid late on by just three-tenths. Traffic meant he was unable to capitalise on the impressive pace, and had traffic not intervened his fastest time would have around a second quicker.

When the lights went out, Dittmann held station through La Source before dragging his way through Eau Rouge and Radillon and alongside 2007 Formula Renault champion and British F3 National Class winner Hywel Lloyd. At the end of the straight he was latest on the brakes to slide into his way into the lead around the outside of the difficult Les Combes. Having broken away from the similar F312-Mercedes, Dittmann was re-caught down the long Kemmel Straight by the slipstreaming pack and as Lloyd attempted a copy of Dittmann’s move a lap earlier he misjudged the dive and clipped the front wing of the CDR car. Despite damage and compromised downforce on an aero-dependent circuit, Dittmann was still able to hold off those behind for second. His fastest lap was only four-tenths of a second shy of CF Racing’s Lloyd, underlining the inherent pace of the car.

He made it two podiums in as many races in the second, stretching away in the wet from those behind but unable to match the leader. The pair disappeared into the distance, some 40 seconds clear of the rest of the field. The result means he has scored four podiums in five races this year behind the wheel.

Gino Ussi found himself in the thick of the action all weekend. He held off a train of cars in the opener to claim a fine eighth, before enjoying a superb seven-car battle in the second of the two races. He eventually slipped back to 10th at the flag following an excellent fight.

Peter Venn was among the cars vying for a top 10 spot in the opening race, crossing the line in 11th place. He was embroiled in the thrilling second race but his race ended on lap five, retiring from 12th place, just 1sec off 10th.

Dittmann said: “Obviously I’m delighted with my own performance but it’s tempered by the disappointments from the rest of the weekend. It means we’re up against it for next weekend at Silverstone, but we’ll be working as hard as we can to get Cian on the grid.

“Gino and Peter enjoyed their weekends, they were right in the middle of it during the two races. It’s a shame for Peter in race two, though he hasn’t got long to wait to get back in the car to bounce back.”

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