PREMA, Camara deliver double win in exciting Belgian weekend
PREMA Racing continued to show outstanding form at Spa-Francorchamps as the Formula Regional European Championship by Alpine went underway at the tricky Belgian course for Round 2 of 2024.
Brazilian racer Rafael Camara was the star of the weekend, securing one pole position and two wins to increase his hefty Driver Championship lead. The action started with variable conditions on Friday, making it even more tricky to gain the needed chemistry with the track.
In Race 1, Camara delivered a memorable run from P6 on the Grid after a challenging qualifying. The Brazilian gained one position after the other with daring moves, defending from a last-gasp attack in a spectacular finish. In Race 2, he put up another exceptional showing, fending off some early attacks from Pole and then sailing away to the finish.
James Wharton capped a tough weekend with a podium finish. A suspension failure in Eau Rouge during Qualifying 1 caused him to crash heavily at Radillon, and the needed chassis replacement forced him to sit out of Race 1. Still, he scored P1 in Group in Qualifying 2, and starting from the front row, he fought his way to a solid third-place finish.
American Ugo Ugochukwu showed plenty of speed since the beginning, but changing conditions impacted his Qualifying 1 results, forcing him to a mid-pack fight in Race 1. Qualifying 2 saw him cruise to a close second place in his group, but a stall at the start sent him to the back. Still, he fought like a lion again, highlighting his pace at Spa-Francorchamps.
#3 - Ugo Ugochukwu
"Ticky weekend here in Spa. The first qualifying on Saturday didn't go our way with a bit of mixed conditions that caught us out a little. That put us on the back foot for Race 1, trying to make a couple of positions and get as much knowledge as possible. In Race 2 on Sunday we started fourth, so qualifying went quite well, but I didn't get off the line. We just need to keep our heads high and try to come back in Zandvoort."
#5 - Rafael Camara
"It was a perfect weekend, I couldn't ask more than this. Even in Qualifying 1, when we couldn't put it together, but still recovered with an amazing Race 1. A big thank you to the team, this wouldn't have been possible without them. What an amazing weekend! Thanks to Emeric, my engineer, Alberto, and Ale my mechanics, it's always so nice to work with them and everyone in the team. We as a team we need to keep working like that, pushing, even away from the track, to make sure that when we arrive on track, we are prepared for every situation and we can do our best."
#13 - James Wharton
"I think we had a lot of pace this weekend and a lot of promise. We were P1 in practice, and it just didn't come together with the problem in Q1, which held us back for the whole weekend. Having to change the car for today ended up making it twice as difficult. Still, I got P1 in my group in Qualifying 2, but I was quite far away from Camara. In Race 2, I had to find the right feeling with the car after missing the first one but still finished in P3. It wasn't the most amazing weekend, but I hope we can come back strong for Zandvoort."