Visser takes top ten finish and rookie podium in Spa Race 1

Beitske Visser’s hard work paid dividends today as the Dutch talent took the first top ten finish of her F.Renault 3.5 campaign, much to the delight of Adrian Vallés and the whole AVF staff. On the calendar’s most challenging track, the renowned Spa-Francorchamps, Beitske recovered from a 9th row start to finish tenth, also taking third place in the Rookie classification. In an eventful race that saw mistakes from much more experienced drivers, Visser delivered a flawless and aggressive performance that included bold overtaking manoeuvres and clever race management, paired to a pace that was quick enough to keep a charging Buller at bay.

On the team’s other car, Zoel Amberg’s race was over after just thirty seconds: the Swiss driver was taken out by a crash at turn five, blameless victim of a clash between Stanaway and Merhi at Les Combes. As a consequence of that contact the Spaniard’s car crossed the track out of control, and Zoel couldn’t avoid being collected. That put an end to his race, a real pity considering that a good qualifying performance had seen him secure a 4th row spot.

Zoel Amberg: Q1 – P8; R1 – DNF

“I was really disappointed with the crash, but there was nothing I could have done to avoid it. Merhi’s car just rolled towards me and hit my rear quarter when I had already passed on its right, the only way I could go to try avoiding the mayhem. Unluckily I didn’t manage, and a DNF is all I’m getting from today despite a good qualifying session that brought us to 4th row. It’s racing I guess, hopefully we’ll have another shot at a good result tomorrow”.

Beitske Visser: Q1 – P18; R1 – P10

“I really enjoyed my race, I always do when I have good fights with other drivers. Today that was the case, and I’m really glad that together with the enjoyment came the first points finish of my F.Renault 3.5 campaign. The early part of the race wasn’t easy because Mavlanov was slowing me down and as a consequence I was under huge pressure from the cars behind. The first time I tried to overtake him he pushed me on the grass, and so the next time I was a bit more aggressive, passing him under braking at Les Combes. After that I immediately managed to open a gap, and I was happy to see that Buller behind couldn’t catch me. It means that I’m making good progress, exactly what this year is about for me. Now I’m looking forward to tomorrow’s race, I hope it will be just as fun”.