Photo: Diederik van der Laan/Dutch Photo Agency

In 1998, Marc Gene beat Angel Burgueno to win the first ever World Series by Nissan title. Twenty years and multiple name changes later, third generation racer Pietro Fittipaldi became the final driver to take the very same title.

World Series Formula V8 3.5, a series which was struggling to attract entries since Renault cut its support ahead of 2016, came to an end last November. Fittipaldi beat just nine other full-time drivers to take the title, and did so by 44 points from Matevos Isaakyan, who like many others, is set for a career in sportscar racing.

Even in its final year, the championship gave a platform for some of the stars of the future, with some standout performances over the course of the year.

With their FV8 3.5 programmes having ended, several of the teams will be moving on to new categories in this year.

Charouz Racing System, which has ran as Lotus since 2012 and won last year?s team title, will move to FIA Formula 2, and will be joined by Fortec Motorsports.

The Italian RP Motorsport has set up a team in America, with the intention of competing in Pro Mazda.

Pietro Fittipaldi?BRAZIL Lotus
1st in standings, 259 points (6 wins, 10 poles, 2 fastest laps)

Photo: Sebastiaan Rozendaal/Dutch Photo Agency

Having ended 2016 with his first outright podium in the series, Pietro Fittipaldi switched to Lotus for his second season and was aiming for a little more than a few more podiums.

The Brazilian made his intentions clear immediately at Silverstone, taking two pole positions and two victories. It was a dominant start to the season, but not quite a sign of what was to come.

Poor race starts cost the Lotus driver on multiple occasions early on and he lost the championship lead fairly quickly. Things picked up in the middle third of the season, including reclaiming the championship lead, but Fittipaldi still struggled to find consistency and a title that could have been wrapped up much earlier dragged on to the final weekend.

One of the most notable mistakes came in the penultimate round of the championship. Fittipaldi locked up and ran into the barriers on the opening lap of the second race at COTA. It gave the opposition a chance to close the gap to the top of the standings, but a pair of second places in Bahrain meant it was Fittipaldi, grandson of motorsport legend Emerson, who won the title.

Fittipaldi’s primary aim for this year is to race in F2, although he is in contention for the remaining Dale Coyne Racing IndyCar seat, and recently tested Jaguar’s Formula E car in Marrakesh. His prize test in Porsche’s Le Mans prototype racer may also encourage him to make the switch to sportcars in the future though.

Matevos Isaakyan RUSSIA SMP Racing with AVF
2nd in standings, 215 points (2 wins, 1 pole, 4 fastest laps)

Photo: Diederik van der Laan/Dutch Photo Agency

After a relatively consistent season, it’s fair to say a few mechanical problems cost Matevos Isaakyan the title in his second year in the championship.

It was a bumpy start for the Russian, who was caught up in a collision with Nelson Mason in the second race at Silverstone and retired on the opening lap of the first race at Spa-Francorchamps.

But Isaakyan bounced back in race two in Belgium, when a late pit stop promoted him into the race lead and he finished three seconds ahead of the next best driver.

From that point onwards, Isaakyan was a regular podium finisher, taking seven podiums from the next 10 races. The string of top results put him in prime position to take advantage of Fittipaldi?s retirement from the second race in Austin, but he could only finish sixth.

He arrived in Bahrain just 10 points behind Fittipaldi, but any chance at the title was wiped out when he suffered engine problems on the way to the grid. He returned to the pits and, though he did manage to get back out, it was too late to rescue his title hopes.

Egor Orudzhev RUSSIA SMP Racing with AVF
6th in standings, 198 points (2 wins, 1 pole, 1 fastest lap)

Photo: Diederik van der Laan/Dutch Photo Agency

A second win of the season at the Circuit of the Americas should have put Egor Orudzhev in a strong position to take the title heading into the final weekend. But an illness denied him a chance to compete and dropped him down the standings.

Orudzhev is one of the all-time stars of FV8 3.5, and had the best podium record of anyone this season. The SMP Racing driver may not have won in the opening race weekend at Silverstone, but started his season strongly with a pair of second places. A storming drive from 10th to third in the opening race in Spa followed, but it wasn?t until the first race at Aragon, the fifth round of the season, that the Russian finally secured his first win of the year.

As impressive as his strong finishes were, Orudzhev?s season wasn?t without faults. All four of the Russian?s retirements were caused by collisions, including a double DNF in Mexico, and he simply didn’t win enough in 2017 to win the title.

His nine career wins put him only behind double champion Frank Montagny, Ricardo Zonta and Oliver Rowland in the all-time list, but this may be the end of his single-seater career as SMP line him up for a future in endurance racing.

Alex Palou SPAIN Teo Martin Motorsport
10th in standings, 68 points (1 win, 3 pole positions, 1 fastest lap)

Photo: Diederik van der Laan/Dutch Photo Agency

Teo Martin Motorsport?s Alex Palou only competed in a handful of FV8 3.5 races, but instantly made an impact ? not least of all by colliding with Fittipaldi on his debut.

Palou joined the championship at the Nurburgring and, other than the opening lap collision, impressed on his debut. He qualified second for the first race of the weekend and took pole for race two, which he managed to convert into a race win.

He took another podium in the following race in Mexico, but was wiped out of the second race there when he was hit by Isaakyan.

His third podium came from his final race, putting him ahead of Nelson Mason in the standings ? the man he was drafted in to replace at Teo Martin.

As a member of Campos Racing’s Academy, there are plans for him to eventually race in their F2 team full-time after he made his debut at the end of 2017. He will be spending this year in FIA European Formula 3 though, having signed to partner Enaam Ahmed at Hitech GP.

Alfonso Celis Jr MEXICO Fortec Motorsport
3rd in standings, 204 points (1 win, 1 pole, 2 fastest laps)

Photo: Diederik van der Laan/Dutch Photo Agency

Alfonso Celis Jr made a strong start to his third season in FV8 3.5, but his results began to fall away in the second half of the season.

Celis started the year with his second career podium, followed by his maiden single-seater victory at Spa. Another podium in race two and Celis was leading the championship, albeit only by a single point.

A spin in the second race at Monza marked the end of his championship lead and a difficult weekend at Jerez dropped him further back.

Celis?s results picked up again at Argon, but it was a rocky second half of the year which cost him a realistic shot at the title, and potentially contributed to the loss of his Force India reserve driver role for 2018.

Rene Binder AUSTRIA Lotus
4th in standings, 201 points (4 wins, 2 poles, 2 fastest laps)

Photo: Sebastiaan Rozendaal/Dutch Photo Agency

Rene Binder won the final ever FV8 3.5 race, securing fourth in the championship and a reassessment by many in the process.

It was a mixed, but much improved season for the Lotus driver. There were moments where the Austrian outshone his championship winning team-mate, including taking a double victory in Monza. But he spent most of the year in the second half of the top 10.

In three seasons of GP2 he finished in the points seven times, and his five podiums with Lotus in FV8 3.5 in 2017 came as a surprise.

After two solid performances at the beginning of last year at Silverstone and Spa, Binder?s Monza success put him in the lead of the championship. But he couldn?t stay at the top for long, with a string of midfield finishes dropping him back down the standings.

The final four races of the year summed up much of Binder?s season. He took victories from the opening race in Austin, and the season finale in Bahrain, but a mechanical problem and a puncture kept him at the bottom of the top 10 in the two middle races and cost him what could’ve been second in the standings.

His only confirmed drive for this year is a part-time IndyCar seat with Juncos Racing, which will encompass the season opener at St. Petersburg as well as Barber Motorsports Park, Toronto and Mid-Ohio.

Roy Nissany ISREAL RP Motorsport
5th in standings, 201 points (1 win, 2 poles, 1 fastest lap)

Photo: Diederik van der Laan/Dutch Photo Agency

After a breakout 2016, in which he won three times, Roy Nissany was one to watch at the start of 2017.

Despite retiring from the opening race of the season on the first lap, the RP Motorsport driver took five podiums from the first nine races and was a regular top five finisher. He took his first ? and only ? win of the season after a strong race in the Jerez opener, putting up an impressive defence against Fittipaldi to take the victory.

But the strong results fell away in the second half of the season and, despite a return to the podium in Bahrain, he couldn?t deliver the top championship position his early results promised.

Konstantin Tereshchenko RUSSIA Teo Martin Motorsport/SMP Racing with AVF
8th in standings, 94 points

Photo: Diederik van der Laan/Dutch Photo Agency

As the best placed rookie, Konstantin Tereschenko produced a solid debut, and therefore only season in the championship, and showed clear growth as a driver as the season progressed.

Tereschenko spent the majority of his time in the bottom half of the top 10, but enjoyed some standout performances in the latter part of the year.

He looked set for his maiden podium at the Nurburgring, taking the chequered flag second behind Teo Martin team-mate Alex Palou after a strong drive, but the Russian was handed a 10 second penalty for crossing the pit exit line, dropping him to fourth. Another fourth place followed in the Mexico opener before finally taking that first podium with a third place in race two.

Tereschenko arrived in Bahrain ready to challenge Yu Kanamaru for seventh in the championship, buoyed by a move to the championship winning AVF team to replace ill SMP Racing stablemate Orudzhev. It was not to be, as a seventh and a spin put him more than 20 points behind the Japanese driver.

Yu Kanamaru JAPAN RP Motorsport
7th in standings, 115 points (0 wins, 1 fastest lap)

Photo: Diederik van der Laan/Dutch Photo Agency

2017 was Kanamaru’s best season yet in FV8 3.5, and his seventh place in the standings came off the back of his seven seventh place finishes.

Other than a mechanical problem in the second race at Silverstone and a retirement in the first Monza race, Kanamaru also finished in the points in every race.

Though the majority of his results were in the bottom half of the top 10, mostly seventh, he produced some stunning drives to put his RP Motorsport car at the sharp end of the field, including his maiden podium in Monza race two. After a safety car period, he jumped past Fittipaldi and Konstantin Tereschenko to take third and held off attacks from both drivers to hold the position to the chequered flag.

He drove for Team Impul in the post-season Super Formula tests, and hopes to one day race in the category.

Diego Menchaca MEXICO Fortec Motorsport
9th in standings, 64 points

Photo: Klaas Norg/Dutch Photo Agency

Menchaca was a consistent top 10 finisher, and the best finisher, in his first season in FV8 3.5.

He took points from every race, bar the second at Monza, where he stalled on the grid and failed to start. But the Fortec driver struggled to break into the top five and didn?t see the improvement some of his competitors managed towards the end of the season.

The second round of the championship in Spa proved Menchaca?s promise. The Mexican took fourth in the opening race after battling with multiple drivers, then managed fifth in race two. But the results didn?t continue through the rest of the season, and he didn?t return to the top half of the points positions until Mexico City late in the championship.

He then took his maiden podium in the series at COTA after battling past Isaakyan, but failed to repeat that result in Bahrain after receiving a drive-through penalty.

Menchaca’s finishing record was something to marvel at, seeing the chequered flag in all 17 of the races that he started. He had intended to continue that finishing run, having already signed to continue in the championship for this year.

The Rest

Nelson Mason and Damiano Fioravanti only completed part seasons. Mason dropped out of the series after Aragon, having taken just one top five finish from 10 races, while Fioravanti continued until after the Nurburgring round with a best finish of sixth.

Henrique Chaves and Tatiana Calderon both appeared on the podium, despite only joining the championship in its final round. Formula Renault Eurocup midfielder Chaves took victory in the first race, having started from the front row of the grid, with Sauber development driver Calderon taking second in the final race, and becoming the first and last female to stand on the FV8 3.5 podium.

52-year-old Giuseppe Cipriani continued for a second season in FV8 3.5, and finished with more than three times as many points as he did in 2016. The Il Barone Rampante driver rarely finished higher than 10th, although did finish a remarkable sixth in the second race in Mexico, and predictably ended the year bottom of the standings.

The post World Series Formula V8 3.5 2017 season review appeared first on Formula Scout.

Photo: RPM Racing

Seven-time race-winner Egor Orudzhev has joined AVF for a third season in World Series Formula V8 3.5.

The 21-year-old Russian follows his SMP Racing stable-mate?Matevos Isaakyan in joining the Spanish squad, which took?Tom Dillmann to the 2016 title.

Orudzhev raced with Arden in his first two seasons in the category, taking two wins and fifth in the standings in 2015 and five victories last year on his way to third place overall.

He tested in GP2 last month, but will continue in Formula V8 3.5, which this year will support the World Endurance Championship, where SMP Racing will field an LMP1 project in 2018.

?I am happy to become a part of AV Formula,” said Orudzhev.

“They were competitive and consistent last year and I look forward to building on this to enjoy even more success in 2017.

“And this is good opportunity for me to fight for the title. I want to thank once again SMP Racing for their support and believing in me. I really look forward to be back on-track.?

Team boss Adrian Valles said: ?We are delighted to field two drivers from SMP Racing, Isaakyan and Orudzhev, in the 2017 World Series Formula V8 3.5.

“With the addition of Egor, our line-up is definitely one of the most interesting of the whole pack and I think we will be able to challenge once again for the title with both drivers.

“Orudzhev is a quick, smart and talented driver with good experience in the series. In 2016, he made a considerable step forward becoming one of the brightest stars of the championship.”

The post Orudzhev makes AVF switch in Formula V8 3.5 appeared first on Formula Scout.

50. Yifei Ye

Photos: DPPI/FFSA

New entry

China ? age 16

French Formula 4 champion

To be racing in French Formula 4 for a second season is always a considerable advantage, since so few do it, but Ye rammed that advantage home with a level of dominance rarely seen at this level.

He won all but three of the first 17 races, allowing him to wrap up the title in the 18th despite a non-finish. A fourth place would be his only top-10 finish from the final six races, but it didn?t matter. He was almost unbeatable in qualifying, bettered only at the final round.

The level of competition in French F4 this year was probably not the greatest, and Ye failed to make a significant impact in a parallel campaign in the Italian series, scoring just two podiums, but he?s proved he?s more than a one-trick pony with top test showings in Formula Renault, where he?will drive?for top team Josef Kaufmann Racing next year.

He doesn?t yet have the F1 affiliation that fellow Chinese racers Guan Yu Zhou and Sun Yue Yang have, but with the form he?s already showing aged just 16, Ye has to be considered just as decent a prospect.

49. Arjun Maini

Photos: GP3 Media Service

New entry

India ? age 19

10th in GP3

For Maini, an attempt at a second season in European Formula 3 (switching to T-Sport after a strong run in Macau last year) didn?t work out, and he managed just a couple of lowly points finishes in the first four rounds before pulling the plug.

He impressively recovered his season however with a move into GP3, where he was immediately competitive despite no testing whatsoever, while driving for the relatively unfancied Jenzer Motorsport outfit.

He came eighth in his first race ? having qualified third ? and scored in five of his first six, including second in the Hungaroring reverse-grid race.

A top 10 finish overall was impressive in a season where there were around 15 potential race-winners. The nine ahead of him are all very good and all older, yet he regularly mixed it with them.

A full winter testing programme and a move to one of the top teams ? he placed in the top four with both Trident and ART in post-season testing ? could yield much more in 2017.

48. Gustav Malja?

Photos: GP2 Media Service

New entry

Sweden ? age 21

13th in GP2

Malja is a man making some fine progress: in two years, he?s gone from the end of a lacklustre stint in Formula Renault to notching up eight consecutive points finishes (including two podiums) in the second half of his first full GP2 season.

From scoring on his debut at Spa last year to qualifying sixth at the opening round of 2016 at Barcelona, he has been quick from the off in GP2 machinery.

It took a while for him to start stringing results together, with just three points on the board after 12 races, but he then scored 50 in the next eight.

At Spa he was best of the rest in qualifying behind the Prema pair, and was passed only by?Giovinazzi from pole in the sprint race. That he came third in the next race at Monza was thanks to a big slice of luck from the safety car bungle, but he was on the pace too.

He’ll?move from Rapax to Racing Engineering for 2017, when this well-supported Swede will have more GP2 experience under his belt than many of those driving for?top teams.

47. Ed Jones

Photos: Indianapolis Motor Speedway, LLC Photography

Down 2

United Kingdom ? age 21

Indy Lights champion

Jones? title-winning Indy Lights campaign wasn?t a classic, but it was enough. Just.

The Dubai man did a lot of the groundwork in the first part of the season, or at least after a dreadful opening round in St. Petersburg, where and Carlin had won twice on their debuts Stateside 12 months earlier.

With two wins and two second-places from the next four races, Jones went 23 points clear at the top of the standings, but he wouldn?t win again. Despite five further pole positions, there would only be four more podium finishes in 12 races, yet he was only outside of the top six twice in that same period.

His championship was summed up by the deciding race. He started from pole, made a good start, but was shuffled back to fifth later in the opening lap. When team-mate Felix Serralles moved over on the final lap (the only sensible thing to do), fourth was enough for him to win the title.

Jones has found it easier to get the funding in place for a full-time IndyCar graduation than many past Lights champions, and it will be interesting to see how he gets on. He’s a driver with good speed, even if he doesn’t?turn?it into results as often as he maybe should.

46. Aaron Telitz

Photos: Indianapolis Motor Speedway, LLC Photography

New entry

United States ? age 25

Pro Mazda champion

The top three USF2000 drivers of 2015 all stepped up to Pro Mazda for this season, and it was the last of them that made the most successful move.

Telitz joined Pelfrey team-mate Pato O?Ward as a winner on the opening weekend in St. Petersburg, before the second-year Mexican went on a fine winning streak while not having his budget confirmed to see out the season.

O?Ward would be able to complete the campaign, but back-to-back doubles on the fabled Road America circuit and the streets of Toronto in the middle of the year brought Telitz level with him.

Telitz then had the better of the Mid-Ohio event to pull a lead, and won the final race at Laguna Seca to secure the crown.

Having turned 25 last week, Telitz was a late-starter on the Mazda Road to Indy, but he?s making up for the lost time. Next stop: Indy Lights.

45. Sacha Fenestraz?

Photos: DPPI

New entry

France/Argentina ? age 17

Fifth in Formula Renault Eurocup and NEC

Fenestraz had already caught the eye as a car racing rookie in French Formula 4 last year (finishing second), and did so again in 2016 with a strong first season in Formula Renault.

His year actually began pretty poorly, with a seventh place his only top 10 finish from his first seven races across Eurocup and NEC.

Then came the Monaco race. Having taken two of his three F4 wins on the streets of Pau, Fenestraz went there as a dark horse, and once Lando Norris was disqualified and Ferdinand Habsburg took a grid penalty, the Franco-Argentine had pole, then held the lead through a messy and shortened wet race.

He didn?t get another chance to show his street circuit pedigree, but did show more wet weather class with his two further wins, in the final NEC and Eurocup rounds at Hockenheim and Estoril respectively.

He ended both series fifth overall, and top ?non-Norris? rookie. From there, he hopped into Norris? Josef Kaufmann Racing car and topped the post-season test day, sounding a warning for 2017, when he?ll hope to join brother-in-law Jose Maria Lopez as the winner of a Formula Renault Eurocup title.

44. Sergio Sette Camara?

Photos: Macau Grand Prix

New entry

Brazil ? age 18

Third in Macau Grand Prix

Sette Camara had always seemed a bit of a left-field choice as a Red Bull Junior Team member, and for most of 2016, he struggled to justify the status. He climbed just three championship positions ? from 14th to 11th ? merely matched his podium tally (of two), and was heavily overshadowed at Motopark by his rookie team-mates.

OK, so he was twice denied pole positions to 10-place engine change penalties, but when he was free of those, he couldn?t produce the goods.

Then came Macau, where after a late deal to join Carlin he repeated his?strong pace from last year, and progressed from sixth in first qualifying to third by the end of the qualifying race.

In the main event, he flew into the lead by the second corner, and it was only safety car restarts ? which a) he had no experience of, and b) are a lottery in Macau anyway ? and the tough, professional competition that denied him of a rather famous first car racing win.

After a performance like that you could forgive him for aiming high, but to have leapt?into a GP2 seat with MP within a week, aged 18 and without a single win on his CV is brave to say the least. It?s hard to see Red Bull getting behind it, just when he might have convinced it that he was worth keeping.

With clear promise and a bevy of Brazilian backers led by Petrobras, he remains worth watching, but?how long can he wait for?results?

43. Kenta Yamashita?

Photos: Japanese F3 Association

New entry

Japan ? age 21

Japanese F3 champion

For a while, it looked as though Yamashita would come up short in Japanese F3 for a third straight year, but he produced a perfect final weekend at Sugo to overhaul Jann Mardenborough for the title.

On paper, he should never have been troubled by the talented Welshman, who was mostly new to Japanese circuits despite his Nissan patronage. But Mardenborough ? and the local experts that came in and took wins off the two title rivals during the year ? had an ace up their sleeves in the Volkswagen engine, superior to the Japanese units such as Yamashita?s TOM?s-Toyota.

Nick Cassidy?s struggles in Macau in 2015 had made the current weaknesses of the Japanese entries clear to see, and the decision was made to place Yamashita with British outfit T-Sport in its Tomei-engined car for 2016.

Yamashita was designated a dark horse and he lived up to that almost too well, spending the entire weekend in the top five, but not quite managing to make it onto the podium.

Still, second among the true juniors was a very strong effort, and proof he could do well in Europe. Toyota is more likely to deploy him on the domestic scene, though.

42. Egor Orudzhev

Photos: RPM Racing

Down 20

Russia ? age 21

Third in Formula V8 3.5

Orudzhev should have won the Formula V8 3.5 title this year. Experienced competition like?Tom Dillmann and Matthieu Vaxiviere meant he didn’t start as an overwhelming favourite, but it wasn’t the strength of the opposition that made life difficult.

Instead, it was just a disastrous start that wrecked the Russian?s hopes. Crashing out of the lead on the first lap of the very first race set the tone, and after four races he had just two points to Dillmann?s 76.

Orudzhev went on to win five times (compared to twice each by Dillmann and Louis Deletraz) and salvage third in the final standings, only 40 points off the top. And that?s a gap he could have wiped out with better consistency: only twice?did he pair one of his wins with a top-six finish at the same circuit.

Qualifying was already a clear weakness last season, and after that fateful first race, he wouldn?t score another pole. Near the end of the year he found a novel solution to this: rocket starts, which vaulted him from position five?on the grid to first by the first corner for three wins in four races across?Monza, Jerez and Barcelona.

Having now taken seven wins in the series in all (tying for second on the all-time list with Carlos Sainz and Antonio Felix da Costa) a move to GP2 would make sense for 2017, but he could yet stay where he is: a signal that backer SMP Racing may well be?preparing?him for?its upcoming LMP1 project.

41. David Beckmann?

Photos: FIA F3 European Championship

Up 5

Germany ? age 16

15th in FIA F3 European Championship

Beckmann?s decision to effectively step up to European F3 before he was even old enough was always going to put him up against it this year.

It meant missing the first two rounds and debuting on the narrow streets of Pau, but he impressed in just his second event in Austria, racing into the top seven and coming fifth in second qualifying. He made the podium in his fourth round, at Zandvoort.

A rougher period followed, but Beckmann demonstrated his class before the year was out. He edged out an otherwise dominant Lance Stroll for pole at Hockenheim, only to lose it for a floor infringement caused by kerb damage, before picking himself up for his second podium in race two of the weekend. He went well on his Macau debut, running inside the top 10 before an incident.

Beckmann?s 2016 won?t stand out on his CV as much as a title tilt in F4 would have done, but if?it makes him better in 2017 – and his performances made him hot property on the driver market before he signed for Van Amersfoort Racing – it will have served its purpose.

The post PaddockScout Top 50 2016: 50-41 appeared first on Formula Scout.

Photo: RPM Racing

Roy Nissany has taken his third win of the Formula V8 3.5 season by winning the first race of the weekend at Monza.

Although the Israeli driver lost the lead off?the start, he was able to stay calm under pressure to retake the lead and win the race by over ten seconds in front of?his nearest rival.

Nissany was slow away from the grid which allowed Pietro?Fittipaldi to momentarily take the lead of the race as they approached the turn one chicane.?Fittipaldi would then outbreak himself and throw away the lead as the Brazillian had to take to the escape road to make the corner.

This allowed Nissany back ahead as several drivers behind, including Nissany’s team mate Rene Binder, bounced along the kerbing on the inside of the chicane, dropping them back into the pack.

With most of the drivers ahead making a mess of the first chicane,?it allowed?Matthieu Vaxiviere to find himself up into second position from eighth on the grid.

Louis Deletraz would then catch and overtake Vaxiviere into turn one after getting a good tow down the main straight, demoting Vaxiviere into third and into the clutches of?Aurelien Panis.

Behind the top four, Binder got back onto terms with Fittipaldi to overtake the Fortec driver around the outside at the Curva Grande. With Binder now past, Fittipaldi was now being hustled by Yu Kanamaru who managed to use the tow down the main straight to make the pass before the first turn.

With the top four seemingly too far ahead from?the rest of the pack, the action was being squarely focused on the struggling Fortec car of Fittipaldi. The Brazilian was starting to really struggle and was once again overtaken into the first corner, this time by both?Beitske Visser and Egor Orudzhev.

Returning driver Will Buller?in the final points paying position was the next to try and overtake Fittipaldi, but the?Brit was unable to keep up with the Brazilian down the main straights, leaving him with less overtaking opportunities around the speed heavy track.

With about half of the race left to go, the running order remained relatively the same until the end. Fittipaldi desperately tried to stay?in the points but was passed by both Vitor Baptista and Alfonso Celis in a handful of corners as he continued to struggle with his car. The battle for fourth?was starting to heat up between Panis and Binder on the ?penultimate lap, but a spin and subsequent crash out of Ascari by Visser put an end to any racing in the last part of the track, stopping any progress by Binder until the chequered flag was shown.

Nissany would take the win by more than ten?seconds from Deletraz, who himself was nearly eight seconds ahead of Vaxiviere in third. Panis held off Binder to take fourth position, ahead of Kanamaru in sixth. Orudshev was bumped up to seventh after Visser’s spin, with Baptista, Celis, and Buller rounding out the top ten.

The post Roy Nissany wins first Formula V8 3.5 race at Monza appeared first on Formula Scout.

Photo: Paul Davies Photography

Roy Nissany completed a double victory in Formula V8 3.5 at Silverstone with a dominant drive in race two.

As on Saturday,?Matthieu Vaxiviere had claimed pole, but once more he made a terrible start, allowing Nissany to sweep into the lead from second on the grid.

Rene Binder, his team-mate at the Charouz-run Lotus squad that has had a clear pace advantage this weekend, climbed from fourth to second at the start, but couldn’t challenge Nissany, who won by a huge 17 seconds.

He becomes the first driver to win two?races in one?weekend in the series since Carlos Sainz at Paul Ricard in September 2014, and climbs to second in the standings.

Vaxiviere managed to beat the similarly SMP-liveried car of?Egor Orudzhev into third at Maggotts for the first time, but Orudzhev then went around the outside at Stowe to claim the final podium place, which he would hold at the end.

From there, Vaxiviere went into reverse, with?Aurelien Panis passing him?into Vale a lap later and?Pietro Fittipaldi getting him into Stowe on lap four.

Behind that, championship rivals?Tom Dillmann and?Louis Deletraz had an entertaining scrap over the opening laps. Deletraz went around the outside of Dillmann at Abbey, only for Dillmann to dive back down the inside at Village.

Deletraz then reclaimed the place as both drivers went way wide at Copse as they battled side-by-side.

Dillmann would gain considerably through the pit stop phase,?jumping Vaxiviere and Fittipaldi in the pit lane with a quick change at AVF (Fittipaldi had a problem at his stop and eventually retired) with Deletraz also rejoining behind once he stopped.

While that was going on, Panis was given notice of a one-place drop in the final results for exceeding track limits early in the race.

That meant that Dillmann finished fourth ahead of his fellow Frenchman, even though he crossed the line only seven tenths in front?of Deletraz.

Dillmann had been under pressure from Vaxiviere in the second part of the race, but an attempted pass down the inside of Brooklands by Vaxiviere led to him going deep and allowing Deletraz to pass him with less than?a minute left on the clock.

Vitor Baptista finished eighth in front of?Yu Kanamaru, while?Beiske Visser beat?Alfonso Celis to the final point with a late move into Brooklands.

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Photo: Paul Davies Photography

Matthieu Vaxiviere has taken pole position for the first race of the Formula V8 3.5 weekend at Silverstone in a front row lockout for the SMP Racing programme.

Moving to top spot in the final runs of the session, he had just 0.022 seconds in hand over stable-mate?Egor Orudzhev before a further improvement on his next lap moved him 0.128 seconds clear.

Vaxiviere’s one previous 2015 pole came at the last round at Paul Ricard, when Orudzhev ended up with?victory.

Roy Nissany had dominated Friday’s running with Vaxiviere’s old Lotus team and led much of the session, but had to make do with third.

The championship’s top four followed in order, with?Tom Dillmann ahead of?Louis Deletraz?(who had moved to top spot with the first effort of his final run),?Aurelien Panis and?Rene Binder.

Pietro Fittipaldi and Yu Kanamaru both had stints in second place but ended up eighth and ninth in front of?Alfonso Celis.

The field is down to 13 cars this weekend from the usual 15, with SMP Racing’s?Matevos Isaakyan and RP Motorsport’s?Artur Janosz focussing on their GP3 campaigns in Hungary.

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Photo: RPM Racing

Formula V8 3.5 rookie?Louis Deletraz reignited his title ambitions with his second win in the category in race two at Paul Ricard.

Deletraz started third on the grid and remained there in the early stages behind front row men?Roy Nissany and?Egor Orudzhev, but he was able to outpace them on an alternative strategy to claim victory.

He was two-and-a-half seconds off the lead?before he made his mandatory pitstop on lap eight, and when the Lotus and Arden teams chose not to?react to Fortec’s strategy call, he was able to lap around a second-a-lap faster in clean air on fresh rear tyres.

Having caught Nissany when the Isreali went straight on at the chicane on the Mistral Straight, Orudzhev eventually pitted at the end of lap 13 but rejoined a good distance behind Deletraz.

Nissany reacted to that and pitted a lap later, but it was too late and he was unable to prevent Deletraz sweeping into the lead. Furthermore he had to defend from Orudzhev, meaning Deletraz had a seven-second advantage by the end of the lap.

Nissany quickly shook Orudzhev off and started cutting the gap to Deletraz, but the Renault Sport Academy driver?still had 2.8s in hand by the end.

Orudzhev followed up his race one win with third, while Aurelien Panis?and?Rene Binder took fourth and fifth having claimed those positions on lap one.

Matthieu Vaxiviere climbed from eighth to sixth at the start ahead of championship leader?Tom Dillmann, but fell back through the pit stop phase and eventually retired.

Since winning the opening race at Aragon, Deletraz had been beaten by Dillmann in every race but with the single-seater veteran only mustering sixth on a low-key weekend on home ground, Deletraz has now cut the gap to 22 points.

His Fortec team-mate Pietro Fittipaldi finished seventh?ahead of Alfonso Celis, debutant?Artur Janosz and?Beitske Visser.

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Photo: RPM Racing

Egor Orudzhev has won the first Formula V8 3.5 race at Paul Ricard, becoming the first driver to win two races this season.

After the start was aborted due to stalling drivers on the formation lap,?Orudzhev made?a blistering launch?from the second row to muscle his way into first place at the first corner. On the other hand, both?Matthieu Vaxiviere on pole and Roy Nissany had poor starts dropping them both behind the Russian for the first lap.

By the second lap though, Vaxiviere was able to get back ahead of?Orudzhev as the top three broke away from the rest of the pack.

But his lead was cut short?as Vaxiviere would start to struggle with his car mid way into the race and fell behind both?Orudzhev and Nissany in a matter of laps.

For the rest of the race it was a well fought battle between Orudzhev and Nissany with the two almost colliding on numerous occasions before Orudzhev eventually won out to take first position with Nissany finishing second.

Third place went to Nissany’s team mate Rene Binder, who was able to keep ahead of championship leader Tom Dillmann in fourth, with Dillmann?struggling for pace for the entirety of the?race.

Vaxiviere eventually finished down in fifth?while leading a train of cars that included Louis Deletraz, Yu Kanamaru and Aurelien Panis who started from the pit lane.

Ninth position went to Beitske Visser with Matevos Isaakyan, who also started from the pit lane, rounding out the top 10.

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Photo: RPM Racing

Matthieu Vaxiviere?took pole for the first of the Formula V8 3.5 races at Spa-Francorchamps – his first pole of the season with the new SMP Racing outfit.

The Frenchman – who was not one of the four drivers to have won one of the first four races of 2016 – set a time of 1m58.226s, beating compatriot?Aurelien Panis by 0.143 seconds.

Egor Orudzhev?-?wanting to score big having mustered just two points so far – took third behind his Arden team-mate Panis and ahead of Friday pacesetter?Rene Binder?of the Charouz-run Lotus team.

The championship’s top two of Tom Dillmann and?Louis Deletraz will share row three of the grid.

Yu Kanamaru,?Roy Nissany,?Johnny Cecotto and?Alfonso Celis completed the top 10.

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Photo: RPM Racing

Tom Dillmann converted a Formula V8 3.5 pole position into his first series win?at the fourth time of asking, but only after surviving a late attack from?Roy Nissany on a soaking wet Hungaroring.

It was another far-from-straightforward race for?Dillmann, who went off on the first green flag lap after a safety car start and lost the lead to Matthieu Vaxiviere.

A safety car however played back into the hands of Dillmann, who had already made his mandatory pitstop, while Vaxiviere had not.

A crucial pass on the also-early-stopping Aurelien Panis after the restart meant Dillmann led once Vaxiviere and others had came in for their pitstops.

The race wasn’t won yet though because Nissany, recovering after?spinning out of second?at the final corner when the race began, also got past Panis and?cut the gap to Dillmann?at more than a second a lap.

Nissany, in the country where he grew up and where his father Chanoch famously took part in a Formula 1 practice session, was right with Dillmann on the final lap but was unable to find a way past.

Panis finished over 10 seconds back in third with fellow Aragon winner Louis Deletraz a similar distance back again in fourth after an adventurous race, finishing just ahead of Vaxiviere.

Despite a glance with the barriers early on,?Yu Kanamaru?was running sixth before spinning at the penultimate corner and dropping to 10th as the last finisher.

Race one winner?Johnny Cecotto inherited the place ahead of?Rene Binder?and?Pietro Fittipaldi, while expected title contender?Egor Orudzhev finally picked up?his first points of the season in a distant ninth after suffering?a slow pitstop.

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