•Aerial somersault at Spa denies young American possible podium finish•20-year-old scythes through the field until adversary’s error sends him flying•California native eager to bounce back immediately at Germany’s Norisring

Gustavo Menezes threw his hat into the audition ring for the most spectacular shunt of the season in the fiercely-disputed FIA Formula 3 European Championship at Spa-Francorchamps – as a rival’s momentary misjudgement cost him a potential rostrum finish. The legendary, 4.6-mile Belgian Grand Prix circuit – nicknamed the ‘Ardennes rollercoaster’ for its notoriously challenging and undulating nature – is always a favourite on the annual calendar, and Menezes returned with high hopes having tallied his maiden pole position and podiums there last year. Troubles during practice and qualifying, however, restricted the talented young American to just 18th on the starting grid for race one, 13th for race two and 11th for race three amongst the 33 protagonists – the indisputable crème de la crème of up-and-coming open-wheel stars, with European F3 widely regarded as the toughest junior single-seater series on the planet. The opening encounter took place on a damp track, with all competitors on slick tyres, and minor contact as the pack concertinaed together into La Source for the first time left Menezes’ Volkswagen-powered Dallara sporting a crooked front wing. With his car no longer handling the way it should, he could do little else but wrestle it to the finish in a lowly and distinctly unaccustomed 22nd position. The Jagonya Ayam with Carlin team worked hard to rectify the issues ahead of the following race, and Menezes was immediately back in the hunt, vaulting up to ninth as the starting lights went out and thereafter advancing to sixth when the three leaders collided a handful of laps in. Clearly in feisty mood, a neat pass on Dorian Boccolacci earned the highly-rated California native fifth, and he was sizing up Brandon Maisano for fourth when disaster struck. After picking up a tremendous tow, Menezes jinked out of his adversary’s slipstream on the long Kemmel Straight – the fastest section of the circuit – only for the Frenchman to edge him towards the grass, with the resultant wheel-to-wheel contact sending the WH Sports Group protégé skyward at almost 170mph, into the outside guardrail and barrel-rolling through the air. Landing upside-down, the car continued to skid across the circuit before coming to a halt on the other side – mercifully being missed by the rest of the field. Miraculously, once the terrifying aerial somersault had reached its conclusion and marshals had righted the #4 entry, its driver was able to climb out virtually unscathed – although the fact that the roll hoop had collapsed in the impact indicated just how fortunate he was to escape with nothing worse than a swollen and bruised knee. Maisano was subsequently penalised for not having allowed enough room. With the extent of the damage obliging him to sit out the final race – albeit, team player that he is, sticking around to support his Carlin stablemates – Menezes was left to reflect upon a second stolen podium opportunity of the campaign, whilst underlining his determination to recapture his top ten spot in the title standings at the Norisring this coming weekend (26-28 June).“I love Spa,” enthused the 20-year-old, a former winner of the coveted Jim Russell Driver Scholarship Award. “It’s one of the greatest circuits in the world and very special to drive when you’re on the limit – it’s an awesome feeling when you really get a lap hooked-up properly.“Unfortunately, we had a variety of small issues throughout practice and qualifying, which was really frustrating as we ended up far further down the grid than we should have been. In race one, there was then slight contact heading into the tight first corner as everybody squeezed together, which knocked my front wing askew. It was moving around a lot, which reduced my aerodynamic downforce, leaving me with a lot of understeer and making the car very difficult to drive.“We altered the set-up substantially for race two and entered it with a fresh, positive mindset. I got a great start to jump immediately up to ninth, and then just focussed on gaining more ground. Our pace was much better and I was able to stay in the leading group – the car felt transformed and I was confident we would finish on the podium.“After I’d passed Boccolacci for fifth, I carefully lined up Maisano. I set my fastest first sector of the race and got an almighty tow going through Eau Rouge. I went to the inside as I’d done the previous lap with Dorian, but Brandon moved to block and I don’t think he can have realised exactly where I was because he continued to come across even once I was pulling alongside and his rear tyre clipped my front.“Suddenly, out of nowhere, my car just lifted off and the next thing I knew, I was staring at the sky! I couldn’t actually believe what was happening. I hit the guardrail, and because the roll hoop broke, my head was dragging along the ground and practically holding the car up! I’m very grateful that Schuberth make such strong helmets as it absorbed the entire impact, and the quick reactions of the marshals and safety of these F3 cars meant there was no lasting damage. I want to say a big ‘thank you’ to all the marshals and medical crews at the track for looking after me so well.“I know I was a lucky boy and I have no desire to have another accident like that in a hurry! It was quite funny, though, because afterwards, people were calling me ‘indestructible’ and ‘Man of Steel’ on Twitter. I’ve been waiting for the stunt driving calls ever since, but in the meantime, I’ll settle for three good results at the Norisring. We’ll definitely come back fighting fit and ready to rock – and gunning for that elusive podium!”