Schumacher beats Fittipaldi as the rain denies Blomqvist
FORMULA REGIONAL EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIP VALLELUNGA (ITA) 4-5 MAY ROUND 2/8
The Formula Regional European Championship grew to 14 cars for its second round, but celebrations were dampened by torrential rain that caused the third race to be cancelled.
David Schumacher won race one from the front – pleasing his dad and team boss, ex-formula 1 racer Ralf – ahead of Enzo Fittipaldi and Marcos Siebert.
It was Siebert’s maiden podium, but a decision to gamble on slick tyres meant he was unable to repeat it in the wet race two, while team-mate Schumacher never looked on the pace.
Having won the first three races of the season at Paul Ricard, Prema Powerteam became the team to beat once again as Fittipaldi and Frederik Vesti surged to the front. But first they had to get by Isac Blomqvist (KIC Motorsport), who had dominated qualifying. Fittipaldi took half the race to manage it, followed a few corners later by Vesti, who then spent several laps pressuring his team-mate.
Fittipaldi’s grip on the lead looked increasingly precarious and, although he retained it through a brief off-track excursion, Vesti eventually got by as the track began to dry. Team-mate Olli Caldwell collected his first podium of the season, while Blomqvist fell to sixth and was then denied redemption from pole in race three by the weather.
Joey Mawson picked up two fourths for Van Amersfoort Racing, the first under pressure from Vesti. Matteo Nannini, nephew of 1989 Japanese GP winner Alessandro, also made his debut, racing with dispensation for being underage.