Tony Quinn Foundation Ambassador Zack Scoular tackled the legendary Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps in Belgium.
While mechanical gremlins plagued much of his weekend, there were still glimpses of promise along the way.
The 17-year-old Kiwi arrived excited for his maiden laps at the famous 7km Spa-Francorchamps circuit, with all the action condensed into just two days. Testing and Free Practice were staged on Thursday, before Qualifying, and both races followed on Friday.
His opening test was held in damp conditions, with rain falling early before the track gradually improved. Scoular completed 17 laps and finished the session in 10th with a 2:26.760, a solid first run at one of the world’s most challenging venues.
Conditions were far better for the second session, where he built confidence and logged 20 laps, clocking a best lap of 2:16.440. Unlike most of the field, he was unable to improve late, but still banked valuable mileage.
Free Practice, however, proved cruel. Midway through the 40-minute run, an electrical fire inside the cockpit forced Scoular to stop on track, cutting short vital preparation time for Qualifying.
Friday dawned busy, with both Qualifying sessions run back-to-back in the morning before the two races later in the day. In Qualifying 1, bad luck struck again with a front flap issue forcing repairs and preventing him from setting a representative time. He ended the session at the foot of the timesheets.
In Qualifying 2, Scoular finally managed some clean laps, finishing 22nd and just half a second shy of the Top 20.
Race 1 began under sunshine, with Scoular starting 29th and last. An aborted start delayed the getaway, but when the lights did go out he launched well, climbing four spots on the opening lap to slot in behind teammate Alceu Feldmann.
As rain swept across the circuit mid-race, strategy became crucial. Scoular climbed into the Top 20 and stopped for wets under Safety Car conditions. Just as he prepared to charge forward, Race Control called an early red flag, freezing the order. He was classified 20th, a respectable recovery given the challenges.
In Race 2, Scoular lined up just outside the Top 20. He held position in the early laps before the engine began cutting out; the issue quickly escalated and sparked another small electrical fire in the cockpit.
His race was over after just two laps, marking his first DNF of the season. While Spa wasn’t kind, Scoular still showed his potential, particularly in tricky wet conditions, and leaves Belgium with more experience under his belt and another Top 20 finish to his name.
He sits 33rd in the standings after six rounds, with two to go: the penultimate event at Jerez in under two weeks, before the season finale at Barcelona in mid-November.
Scoular will continue working hard behind the scenes with Palou Motorsport to close out his rookie season strongly and push for those first Eurocup-3 points.
Hear from Scoular directly on how his weekend went at Spa, from a drivers perspective.
Header Image: Supplied
