Rookie James Calado just might make this a three-way battle for the championship. He took points off Luiz Razia and Davide Valsecchi in both races at Spa, though he could have done without losing second place to Felipe Nasr coming out of the final corner in the sprint race with rooted tyres.
He had come under attack from Razia at Kemmel on the first lap and Razia was edged onto the grass, spinning in front of the pack. Razia was fortunate not to get hit – and even more fortunate that he took Davide Valsecchi off with him.
Josef Kral scored his first win of the season while Esteban Gutierrez further damaged his championship hopes in a needless collision with Julian Leal while trying to take fourth place.
Marcus Ericsson won the feature race after a lengthy stoppage when the barrier was damaged in Nigel Melker’s crash and the medical helicopter had to take him to hospital. Happily the reports on his condition are encouraging.
Here are the championship standings. There are two double-headers left and a maximum of 96 points available:
1. Luiz Razia – 204 (four wins, two seconds)
2. Davide Valsecchi – 204 (three wins, three seconds)
3. James Calado – 160
4. Esteban Gutierrez – 150
5. Giedo van der Garde – 141
6. Max Chilton – 124
