A Weekend Full of Podiums for Van Amersfoort Racing in Valencia
From February 13 to 16, the Formula Winter Series returned to Circuit Ricardo Tormo in Valencia for its second round out of four. With several podium finishes and a new driver, it was an eventful but very successful weekend for the team.
For the first race of the weekend, the results of the first qualifying session were used. Maximilian Popov started from fifth place and managed to cash in on it. Dante Vinci also managed to hold on to his qualifying result and finished P6. In the rookie classification, the Australian finished in first place. This marked the first podium finish for Van Amersfoort Racing (VAR) of the weekend. Gino Trappa managed to move up a few spots during the first race. Starting from P14 he managed to finish in P10 and scored his first points for VAR during his first outing for the team. Payton Westcott also made up a few places from P23 to P19.
To determine the starting grid for the second race of the weekend, the second fastest laps of the first qualifying session were used. In the second race, Max managed to also end in P5 and take important points home. Dante managed to finish P7 and also score points again. In the rookie standings he managed to finish in P1 once again and finish on the top step of the podium for the second time this weekend. Gino just missed out on more points by finishing P13. Payton ended up in P24 in the overall standings for the second race in Valencia.
On Sunday afternoon, the final race of the weekend was planned. The results of the second qualifying session were used to determine the starting grid. Max started from P3 and also finished on P3, which meant the first podium in the overall standings for VAR. Dante managed to drive from P8 to P5 and he once again finished in first place in the rookie standings. Gino endured some difficulties during the final race of the weekend and eventually finished in P22. Payton did good work in the third race. The American started from P21 and eventually finished in P17.
All in all, the weekend in Valencia was very successful for the team. Max did good work in the Championship with three top-ten finishes. Rookie Dante also scored many points in Valencia. In the rookie classification he even managed to finish P1 in all races. Freshman Gino secured his first point with a P10 finish. Payton still remains pointless but she showed great progress during the second weekend of the Championship.
With four new trophies in the pocket, the team is getting ready for the next round. The third round of the Formula Winter Series will be held in Alcañiz, Spain, at Motorland Aragon, from 27 February to 2 March. You can watch all the action live on the official Formula Winter Series Youtube channel and on the VAR socials.
Maximilian Popov: “Quite a successful weekend for us in Valencia. We had some struggles in practices, but made it work in qualifying. All 3 races were quite calm and we scored two P5 finishes and one podium finish in the last race. Big thanks to the team, it wasn’t an easy weekend, but we ended up doing well”.
Dante Vinci: “Great weekend in Valencia. It’s nice to see the hard work come together for the team and I. Walking away with a top 5 overall, lots of points and 3 rookie wins, with our sights set on more to come!”.
Payton Westcott: "Valencia was a step forward—I made progress and had some good moves, pushing harder and racing smarter. Still work to do, but every lap is progress, and I’m ready to keep improving!".