Photo: wsbyrenault

Nelson Panciatici in the rhythm at Spa Francorchamps

The KMP Racing team and their manager Bruno Besson were very confident when they reached the difficult track of Spa Francorchamps for the World Series by Renault. Nelson Panciatici would confirm this with a position in the top ranks right from the free practice on Friday where he finished 5th.

For the first session of qualifiers, Nelson managed to reach an excellent 4th place in one lap before being blocked, which was a shame because the first line was in view!

Nelson Panciatici then fought hard for 3rd place right up to the last lap of race 1 when he was overrun and crossed the line in 5th position.

For the qualifiers the next day, the drivers of KMP Racing pulled off a combined attack with Nelson 8th and his co-driver Anton Nebylitskiy 9th, but fell foul of the traffic once more and the young Frenchman would be left with a few more regrets.

In race 2, after a lively start which saw him lose a few places, Nelson Panciatici lined up some fast laps before taking a late pit stop which should have seen him come out in the lead positions. Unfortunately, he was immobilised for some long seconds following a problem with the gear box selector and came out in 11th place. Nelson would eventually finish a very disappointing 10th considering the extremely fast times he had clocked at that point in the race.

Nelson Panciatici: “We had the speed but success evaded us all weekend, whether in the qualifiers or the race. The championship is far from over though, and we’re still in this despite everything. The new points allocation system also means we just need a good weekend to be back in the running, we just need to grab the opportunities! »

“Nelson is still 5th in the championship despite our problems,” added Bruno Besson, the Team Manager for KMP Racing, “ we have got to work hard and do everything we can to eliminate any unknowns because we’re still in this to win. Nelson had two very good races and the ranking does not reflect his performance at all, his race times prove it. Nelson also spends a lot of time with his engineer and the two of them have really hit it off, it’s their strong point. I’m optimistic for what’s to come even though I know it won’t be easy considering the exceptionnally high level of the championship this year but we have nothing to envy the others, up to us to attract our success! »

The next meeting in the World Series by Renault will be on the F1 Monza track on the 13, 14 and 15 May.