Belov Takes Maiden FRECA Victory in Commanding Fashion at Spa-Francorchamps

Michael Belov secured his and G4 Racing’s first Formula Regional European Championship by Alpine victory on Saturday at Spa-Francorchamps, with the Russian surviving difficult conditions to win by over nine seconds despite a mid-race safety car.

The Russian racer started from pole position on a damp track, and despite first lap attacks from Hadrien David and Zane Maloney, he was never truly challenged for the lead as he secured his first win of a season that has only really just got started.

Prema Powerteam’s David Vidales made a good start to jump from eighth on the grid to run fourth, but the Spaniard was the driver responsible for causing the safety car as he spun into the barriers exiting the Paul Frere turn on tricky damp conditions.  Vidales’ car stopped in a dangerous position, and the safety car was required for three laps and over fourteen minutes of running!

On the restart, Belov immediately pulled out a lead on David, and by the chequered flag that lead had extended to over nine seconds ahead of the R-ace GP driver, while the podium was completed by David’s team-mate Maloney.

In what was his best showing of the season to date, Dino Beganovic took an excellent fourth for Prema Powerteam ahead of the leading ART Grand Prix entry of Patrik Pasma, with the Finn having made the switch to the team from KIC Motorsport ahead of the round in Belgium.

He finished just ahead of team-mate Gabriele Mini, while championship leader Grégoire Saucy could only manage eighth in the third ART Grand Prix entry, just behind R-ace GP’s Isack Hadjar.

Arden Motorsport completed the top ten, with William Alatalo finishing just ahead of team-mate Alex Quinn, while the Van Amersfoort Racing trio of Mari Boya, Lorenzo Fluxá and Francesco Pizzi ended in positions eleven through thirteen.

On his FRECA debut, British racer Dexter Patterson finished nineteenth for Monolite Racing, two places ahead of fellow debutant Ido Cohen, who was racing for JD Motorsport.

Spa-Francorchamps Race 1 Result