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Strong Spa pace yields solitary top-10 finish for unfortunate Will

Will Palmer displayed brilliant pace across the penultimate Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 weekend of the season at Spa-Francorchamps (24/25 September), but was mightily unfortunate not to leave the Belgian circuit with more as he recorded a best result of ninth despite fighting at the front in both races in the Ardenne Forest.

In qualifying for race one, the action was slow to begin as nearly every driver in the 19-car Eurocup field waited until the final 10 minutes of the session to head out on to the 4.3-mile Spa circuit. Once the cars were out on circuit however, the battle for pole position was fast and frenetic.

After an initial sighting lap, Will lapped the Belgian track in a time of 2m18.632s which put him in provisional second position, and on the front-row of the grid, with just over five minutes remaining on the clock. After other improvements he was pushed down to sixth but on his penultimate lap, he posted a 2m18.406s which put him in a strong fourth position, just 0.107s away from pole position, and on the second row alongside his R-ace GP team-mate Max Defourny. There were no improvements from any drivers on the final circuit as the chequered flag waved leaving Will in a good position for race one of the weekend.

As the lights went out to start race one, third placed man Defourny made a clear jump start to take the lead as Will scythed past Dorian Boccolacci to claim third on track, but what was in effect second with Defourny expecting to receive a drive-through penalty from race control. Heading out of Eau Rouge and down the long Kemmel Straight, the 2015 BRDC Formula 4 Champion got in the slipstream of Lando Norris ahead and pulled to the outside of the 16-year-old as the pair headed into Les Combes, as they battled for the lead despite behind behind Defourny on circuit. The duo turned in to the right-hander but contact was made and Will suffered a damaged front-wing, resulting in him dropping down the order as his aerodynamic performance was compromised.

The 19-year-old pitted at the end of lap one but after surveying the accident damage, his R-ace GP team determined that his race was run and he suffered a disappointing retirement after such a promising start.

Sunday's qualifying session was arguably even tighter than Saturday's, as Will moved to the head of the timing screens with just five minutes left on the clock, with a provisional pole lap time of 2m18.470s. Times continued to drop though and although Will improved on his next circuit to a 2m18.322s, he found himself in seventh as he headed on to his last lap. However, the red flag came out for a spinner, denying Will the opportunity to improve his time and leaving him at the head of the fourth row for the second and final race of the weekend in Belgium.

A wild start to race two saw Will battle hard with a number of other drivers ahead and he managed to keep his nose clean and complete the opening lap in his original grid spot. On lap two, he made a beautiful move around the outside of his struggling team-mate Defourny to move up to sixth and then repeated the trick on the next lap as he made a stunning pass on Jehan Daruvala through the daunting left-right-left switch. He carried a huge amount of speed down the Kemmel Straight and continued his forward momentum by passing Sacha Fenestraz into Les Combes, slotting in behind Lando Norris in fifth.

With the slipstreaming nature of the Spa track, the position changed hands a number of times between Fenestraz and Will on the next few laps but the battle would come to an end as the Southwater racer lost time at the final chicane as he pushed to catch those ahead and dropped to 14^th.

Nevertheless, Will mounted a strong recovery drive and made his way back into 11^th before becoming embroiled in a brilliant battle for 10^th, passing Alessandro Perullo and Ferdinand Habsburg on the final tour to claim ninth position at the flag.

The next outing for Will is on 1/2 October at the Hockenheimring in Germany for the final Formula Renault 2.0 Northern European Cup round of the year before the Eurocup season concludes at Autodrome do Estoril in Portugal on 22/23 October.

Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 - Spa-Francorchamps - Race One

1. H de Sadeleer, Tech 1 Racing, 12 Laps
2. D Boccolacci, Tech 1 Racing, +1.417s
3. L Norris, Josef Kaufmann Racing, +2.204s
4. S Fenestraz, Tech 1 Racing, +5.367s
5. J Allen, JD Motorsport, +7.333s
6. G Aubry, Tech 1 Racing, +8.492s
7. F Habsburg, Fortec Motorsports, +11.760s
8. N Troitskiy, Fortec Motorsports, +15.325s
9. J Daruvala, Josef Kaufmann Racing, +16.774s
DNF. W Palmer, R-ace GP, +11 Laps

Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 - Spa-Francorchamps - Race Two

1. D Boccolacci, Tech 1 Racing, 12 Laps
2. L Norris, Josef Kaufmann Racing, +0.644s
3. H de Sadeleer, Tech 1 Racing, +1.185s
4. S Fenestraz, Tech 1 Racing, +1.645s
5. H Scott, AVF, +5.252s
6. N Troitskiy, Fortec Motorsports, +10.300s
7. J Falchero, R-ace GP, +13.537s
8. H Chaves, AVF, +16.479s
9. W Palmer, R-ace GP, +16.670s
10. A Perullo, Technorace, +17.532s

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