The race started with light rain falling on the French circuit, and Stuvik found good grip off the start line and made up a position on the drag down towards the first corner. As two cars came together in the first turn, he found himself up to second position by the end of the first lap and fast closing in on the early race leader Venezuela’s Robert La Rocca. By turn the first turn on the second lap, the Thai driver made a clean move to overtake for the lead and immediately pulled away from the rest of the field. Over the following 7 laps he would pull out a 7 second lead over the second placed car, but at a high cost on his tires.
The last 6 laps saw Stuvik managing his fading tires while the field started catching up again. Two laps before the end of the race he came under heavy attack from Israel’s Yarin Stern, but managed to hold him off as the rain started coming down again and by the end secured his first European Formula 3 victory and the championship lead.
The Italian team RP Motorsport was ecstatic to again see their car on the top step of the podium and proved yet again that hard work and dedication do pay off. Team owner Fabio Pampado joined the 18 year old Sandy Stuvik on the podium, celebrating the team first victory this seasons.
Sandy Nicholas Stuvik races for the Royal Automobile Association of Thailand and is sponsored by The Pizza Company, Singha Corporation, Dacon Inspection Services.