Prema left the Belgian circuit of Spa in a healthy, provisional first and second position in the F. Renault 2.0 Italia Series with Henkie Waldscmidt in command with 128 points and Martin Plowman close behind with 108. Despite this the third round of the Italia Series was one to forget for Waldscmidt. The Dutch driver set a courageous Pole position in trecherous conditions in qualifying for race 1 before crashing out at turn 5, but the two races were very unlucky for him. In race 1 he retired on lap 3, while in the second race starting 7th, he was inadvertently hit by his team-mate Plowman at the start in trecherous conditions, causing him to retire. Thanks to Waldscmidt’s strong start to the year he maintains control of the championship.
Plowman, 11th in qualifying, claimed a well earned 3rd place in race 1 after a brilliant come back. Unfortunately in the second race, he un intentially hit Waldscmidt at the start in trecherous conditions with the cars all running on slick tyres. Despite damaging his front wing, he restarted in 30th place, rolling up his sleeves and drove a superb race to recover up to 11th place.
Good news for Andrea Caldarelli. Sixth in qualifying, the Italian driver crashed out in the first corner after been hit by Maki, but in race 2 he brushed off his recent bad luck to claim a hard fought 2nd place. His first podium of the year now moves him up to 9th in the standings.
The series continues in a fortnight at Valencia (Esp) for the second overseas race for the Italian series.
