Regalia finished sixth on Saturday
A severe storm on Spa-Francorchamps wasn´t the best allied force for Facu Regalia in Belgium. The young Argentinean driver, despite difficult conditions, concluded sixth.
Facu Regalia has finished in sixth place, during first race of Italian Formula 3 championship held today at Spa-Francorchamps. Regalia, who was fourth on the starting grid, was surprised by a severe storm which nearly flooded the famous Belgian track.
“The race began later than scheduled, and it meant that work time on the starting grid was cut. I asked for a higher downforce set-up, but my mechanics didn´t have time for. After I didn´t make my best start, and now we have to study if my car suffered any kind of clutch problem. I lost five places, so I was ninth”, Regalia explained. However “during first lap, I managed to recover three places, being placed sixth then. My car suffered from understeer, and I had to fight hard to be on track. But then, when the track became dryer, my lap times improved. At the end I was one of the fastest drivers. Anyway my sixth place isn´t bad under the circumstances, because I was the best Team Ghinzani´s driver”, 19 years old driver said.
Seventh place for Regalia during Sunday´s race
Spa-Francorchamps won´t be remembered as the best venue for Team Ghinzani´s driver in 2011. He was the fastest man in middle sector but his car lacked speed on straights, he crossedthe finish line in seventh.
Facu Regalia had another tough race today at Spa-Francorchamps, during second race of Italian Formula 3 championship in Belgian soil. Argentinean driver, who was fifth on the starting grid, made an amazing start and he was third just after first corner.
But, sadly, he noticed soon his main problem to approach today: lack of straight line speed. “My car lacked top speed on straights. I made a good start, because I gained two places at the beginning. My car was good, so I pushed hard during early stages of the race. But it was almost impossible to retain my place on podium for a long time. We have to know what happened today, and why we lacked too much speed compared to the opponents. I tried to overtake Brandon Maisano, but when I went out of his slipstream, my 6th gear rev limiter turned on too soon. It was frustrating”, Regalia explained, afterwards. Third for a while, Regalia was overtaken by Maxime Jousse, “despite I was following Maisano´s slipstream”, and at the end three drivers more overtook him. “I was the fastest in the middle sector, the hardest one for a driver and technically complicated, but in both fast sectors I struggled”, Regalia said.
Italian Formula 3 championship has now a summer break, before fifth meeting at Adria on 3th-4th September. “I hope for better results there. It was frustrating not to be on the podium in Belgium, because I think it was a realistic aim. I will keep working as hard as possible, and the second half of the season should be a little better”, young Argentinean driver concluded.
