Faster Than Speed's unlucky streak in the FSR World Championship finally ended, as Patrick De Wit drove an spectacular race to 5th place in the Belgian GP. Showing strong pace, pulling off a couple of great overtaking moves and with a well-executed strategy, Patrick took at Spa-Francorchamps his best result since China.

AutoGP World Championship

Patrick De Wit returned to the top-10 in Qualifying as he secured 9th on the grid with a solid lap. Team-mate Giuseppe Marconi, meanwhile, qualified 17th on his second race of the weekend.

Patrick made a very good start off the grid, moving up to 7th and later winning a further place by making the best out of a small error from Puumalainen to find a gap on the inside of Rivage corner and overtake Kerkhof. With Patrick among the first ones to pit on lap 9, the focus was on lapping quickly on clear air. Patrick later started to attack Poniatowski. The pair made contact after the German impeded a passing move from Patrick into the La Source hairpin. Poniatowski didn't realise Patrick was alongside and unintentionally turned into him. Luckily, both drivers could continue without major issues.

Patrick's second pitstop was perfectly planned, leaving him with plenty of clear track ahead. Running in 6th place, Patrick caught up with Prevot, who he overtook with a brilliant move which started on the inside of Rivage, before completing the manoeuvre into the outside of the following left-hander.

Towards the end of the race, a great battle developed with Puumalainen for 4th, with the pair passing each other several times without contact, showing that clean fighting is definitely possible in FSR these days. Patrick showed his strength in the middle sector, again repeating the same spectacular move he did on Prevot laps earlier, but even tighter this time around. However, the Finn made the best of his much higher top speed to eventually win the duel, helped by the need to lower revs on Patrick's engine. The 5th place result left everyone very satisfied, with Patrick and the team returning to the points after several races.

Giuseppe, meanwhile, had a tough race. After some last-minute setup changes on his car left him with some unexpected understeer, Giuseppe struggled before losing control on the entry kerb to Eau Rouge, hitting the barriers and ending his race on lap 11.

Patrick De Wit (5th): "Thanks for the positive feedback. I had awesome racing with Puumalainen and Prevot, with two great moves on the outside after Rivage! I am really pleased with this 5th place! About the incidents, they weren't really incidents, just a couple of touches with Kerkhof and Poniatowski, but I let both of them through."

Giuseppe Marconi (DNF): "Thanks Christian for allowing me to race in WC again. I love this track even if I was off my pace with few testing laps behind. However, it was fun! Congratulations to Patrick on his good points for the team."

World Series

Giuseppe Marconi qualified in 20th place. The first laps of the race were difficult for him, however, after recieving a stop-and-go penalty following an off-track excursion. He didn't give up and kept pushing, recovering a few places before again suffering from engine drama and retiring from the race.

World Trophy

Heinz Vanderhoydonck was 13th quickest in the Pre-Qualifying session, with almost the same time leaving him 18th minutes later in Qualifying. After a good start, Heinz drove a solid race, recovering from an early spin. He looked set for a 9th place finish, until an engine failure, 5 laps from the end, denied him a well-deserved result.

Faster Than Speed now moves to the fast Monza circuit, home of the Italian GP. FTS won races at Monza in four out of the last five seasons. Florian Pechon took the honours in WS Advanced in 2008, Christian Smirnoff won consecutive WS Ace races in 2006 and 2007, while Swaraj Shergill was victorious in WS Amateur 2005. Follow us on Facebook or Twitter for the lastest news from Italy, and stay tuned for the race's Live Broadcasts here!

Faster Than Speed left the Hungaroring with disappointment after Patrick De Wit's solid drive in the FSR World Championship's Hungarian GP ended without points. Contact with a competitor while battling for 10th position caused Patrick to spin and hit the barriers with only a few laps remaining.

AutoGP World Championship

Patrick De Wit, Faster Than Speed's only World Championship racer this weekend at the Hungaroring, was 14th after struggling in Qualifying. The result left him unhappy after the very strong pace shown in testing sessions.

Patrick made a good start, passing Marques, but lost a couple of positions after having to back off to avoid first-lap incidents ahead of his car. While he struggled with understeer with the heavy car in the early stages of the race, Patrick delivered a solid performance, overtaking Bekker on the inside of Turn 2 before the first of his three planned pitstops on lap 12.

Patrick made good progress in the second and third stints, making good use of his strategy and climbing up to 8th before his last scheduled pitstop on lap 50. As a small pitlane error cost him a couple of seconds, Patrick went out behind Kerkhof, who he overtook with an spectacular move at the last corner. Towards the closing laps, Patrick had to defend his 10th place and the last point from Prevot, who made a late pitstop and was very quick on fresh tyres.

While Patrick defended very well, an overtaking attempt from Prevot ended up in disaster. With the last point in play, the Frenchman shut the door agressively after a clean move, with neither driver backing off. They made contact, with the result of Patrick's car spinning into the barriers. While he lost both the front and rear wings, Patrick carefully drove back to the pits, where the pitcrew did a great job to get him back in the race. He eventually finished a lap down, outside the points, in 14th place.

Patrick De Wit (14th): "I struggled a lot in Qualifying again, only managed 14th. Then trying to make the best out of the race, I was fighting with Prevot for 10th place, for a single point. It was a great fight, we went side-by-side into Turn 3, and there was no room for both cars and we touched, sending me into the wall. A possible 10th was the maximum today. I still finished the race so I must be pleased. No hard feelings for Prevot, it was a racing incident, nothing else to say. I didn't want to back off, these things happen. See you at Spa!"

World Trophy

With the World Series race rescheduled, the World Trophy was the only other event this weekend. Heinz Vanderhoydonck set the 16th fastest time in the Pre-Qualifying session, later repeating the same position in Qualifying. Unfortunately, the race was very short for Heinz. After making a good start, climbing a few places, an incident on lap 3 caused his early retirement from the Hungarian GP.

Faster Than Speed now moves to the legendary Spa-Francorchamps circuit, where the FSR Belgian GP will take part next weekend! Patrick De Wit took a WC podium at his favourite track as he finished 3rd for FTS in 2007. Follow us on Facebook or Twitter for the lastest news from Belgium, and stay tuned for the race's Live Broadcasts here!

Faster Than Speed appears to be cursed in the German GP, as the team again left Hockenheim with a double retirement and no FSR World Championship points in another very unlucky afternoon. Agustin Canapino, who drove a fantastic Qualifying lap to start from 4th, was a victim of a series of incidents which left him out of the race, while Patrick De Wit dropped out early.

AutoGP World Championship

Agustin Canapino had a great real-racing weekend as he leads Argentina's Top Race V6 championship after dominating the season opener at Interlagos, Brazil, where he took Pole Position, the Super Sprint race, the Final race and fastest lap, competing against drivers including López, Fontana, Mazzacane or Tuero, among others.

A week earlier, in FSR's Qualifying session, he also showed similar pace, as he drove a brilliant lap to qualify in 4th place, ahead of championship leader Bono Huis, missing Pole Position by just a tenth and a half. Team-mate Patrick De Wit, meanwhile, was unable to repeat testing laptimes, and qualified in 16th place, despite being just half a second off the poleman's time.

While both drivers made good starts off the line and remained unscathed through Turn 1, both would soon run into trouble in the opening lap. Agustin was attacked from far behind by Lee Morris into Turn 2. The overly-agressive move was never going to work, with the British driver hitting Agustin's sidepod, causing him to drop 3 positions. Patrick made a great start, moving up 5 places in the first few corners, until he found Tali's car spun across the track in the hairpin. Great reflexes from Patrick avoided a certain colission by millimetres, but he dropped to last position as he had to drive through the grass to do so.

Agustin was showing strong pace, keeping up with the pack and taking the fight to Rietveld. After the Dutch driver blocked agressively, Morand had the chance to close the gap and pass Agustin, who soon re-passed the French driver with a nice move at the exit of the hairpin. A lap later, however, Morand tried a move on the inside of the entry to the famous Stadium complex. With no room for both cars, the pair tangled, causing Morand to spin and Agustin to recieve damage and lose further positions.

Following Murphy's law, things continued to worsen for Agustin, as he was later tapped from behind by De Matos, causing him to spin off the track. Seconds after the first contact, there was a bigger colission between them in the runoff area, which left both cars heavily damaged. While Agustin tried to continue racing, the team decided to abandon the race to avoid endangering other competitors, as the suspension damage made driving almost impossible for him. Patrick's race didn't go any better. Pushing hard to recover ground from last position, Patrick lost control over the high Turn 1 kerb, ending his race early in the tyre wall.

Agustin Canapino (DNF): "Luckily a good Qualifying, P4 was very good for us, so really happy for that. In the race, we got complicated by a few moves and unfortunately, my race was over after I was hit, damaging my car."

Patrick De Wit (DNF): "Again, a bad weekend, not much to say."

World Series

Carrying a penalty after his technical issues in Silverstone, Giuseppe Marconi had to start the World Series race from the back of the grid. Despite this handicap, and a 1-stopper strategy, trying to make up ground from the back, which didn't work as expected, Giuseppe was driving a solid race, until another engine failure unfortunately put an early end to his German GP.

World Trophy

With 14 drivers having a guaranteed Grid 1 spot in Hockenheim, Heinz Vanderhoydonck just missed out on passing the Pre-Qualifying cut as he set the 15th fastest time, struggling with the car around a track that doesn't suit his driving style.

While Germany definitely doesn't seem to be a lucky venue for Faster Than Speed in recent years, the team will be looking forward to improve its record at the Hungaroring circuit, where the Hungarian GP will be raced after the break. Follow us on Facebook or Twitter for the lastest news from Hungary, and stay tuned for the race's Live Broadcasts here!

Faster Than Speed will be looking forward to a much better result in the following round, after failing to score in the FSR World Championship's race at Silverstone. Santiago Niza drove a good British GP but finished outside the points in 15th, while Patrick De Wit's race was plagued with technical issues. Heinz Vanderhoydonck, meanwhile, took some points home in the World Trophy event.

AutoGP World Championship

With little preparation in Qualifying conditions, the team expected to struggle in the Qualifying session. Santiago Niza, replacing Agustin Canapino this weekend, was right ahead of his team-mate Patrick De Wit as the pair secured 17th and 18th positions on the grid.

Both cars had clean starts, with Patrick doing an impressive one, winning four positions to climb to 14th. Santiago had a less successful one, paying the price of a lack of top speed and dropping to 20th. Despite a malfunctioning upshifting paddle which was Patrick's nightmare all weekend, with the team needing to switch his upshifting function to a button on his steering wheel, both drivers showed a much stronger pace than in Qualifying.

Despite struggling against the technical issue, Patrick still managed to take the fight to the drivers ahead. However, things went wrong when attacking Casalins, as the Spaniard braked very early in Silverstone's new section, catching Patrick by surprize. While he managed to avoid a strong colission, the minor contact caused Patrick to spin and damage his front wing. Patrick emerged just ahead of Disley, with the pair involved in a fantastic battle for many laps, in which they switched positions several times. After his pitstop, a stop-and-go penalty for pitlane speeding ended any hopes, while an early engine failure actually ended his race.

After dropping places at the start, Santiago showed competitive race pace. With a mountain of positions to climb, being stuck on traffic and with high tyre wear, however, a 3-stopper strategy was chosen. Unfortunately, the gamble did not pay off, with the strategy costing him a couple of positions at the finish line. While unable to score, Santiago still finished the race in the lead lap, classified in 15th position.

Santiago Niza (15th): "I arrived here short on testing because this race was not originally on my schedule. Despite this, I was happy with my race pace. I had a very bad start, losing 3 positions in the first half lap, then I noticed I made a big mistake with my setup. The setup offered me a good lap time, but a poor top speed. I was able to follow Pattel and Kerkhof, but due to my low top speed, it was impossible to overtake.

After being stuck on traffic for some laps, driving almost a second slower than the target time, I decided to switch to a 3-stops strategy, trying to do something different, because my low top speed made it almost impossible to think about overtaking. After some laps, I noticed that this strategy was a huge mistake, I was not going to improve a position, in fact I was going to lose a position to Disley due to this strategical mistake. On the last stint I was driving carefully, only being focused on bringing the car home in the same lap as the leaders.

I am sorry for the team, it is never nice to see your car finishing on last position. I hope to be more competitive in the next race, and of course, I am not going to repeat the same strategical mistake."

Patrick De Wit (DNF): "Not much to say. My steering wheel was doing weird things (technical issue on his upshifting paddle). I'll try to get my motivation back for Hockenheim."

World Trophy

Heinz Vanderhoydonck, Faster Than Speed's only runner in the World Trophy event, was 17th fastest in Pre-Qualifying, securing a Grid 1 spot, where he later set the 21st quickest time in the Qualifying session.

Heinz made a great start, climbing 10 places in the opening lap. However, he had difficulties defending his position due to a lack of top speed. Heinz lost a few positions as he needed to visit the pitlane twice due to the high tyre wear, but showed good pace, specially on fresh tyres. Towards the end, he had to defend his position from De Juan, with whom he battled for several laps. Heinz did a very good job to hold his position and take points home for his 13th place finish.

Faster Than Speed is now looking forward to boucing back in the next round at Hockenheim, when the circuit returns to being the host of the German GP, after FSR raced in the Nurburgring last year. The team's only WC podium at the venue dates back to 2003, when Gabriel Garivaldis finished in 3rd place. Follow us on Facebook or Twitter for the lastest news from Germany, and stay tuned for the race's Live Broadcasts here!

Faster Than Speed left Valencia disappointed as it did not take any points home from the FSR World Championship's European GP. Agustin Canapino defended his points-scoring position fantastically, but both he and Patrick De Wit retired with engine failures in the closing laps. In the World Trophy, Martin Gosbee scored his first podium finish of the season as he finished 2nd in a high-attrition race.

AutoGP World Championship

Agustin Canapino drove a good lap in Qualifying, which left him 10th on the grid. Patrick De Wit had a less convincing performance, but still managed to secure 15th place.

With both cars having relatively clean starts, despite minor contact, both Agustin and Patrick battled in the midfield group in the opening laps. While contact from Hirrle cost Agustin a few positions, he quickly got back in the race. With both drivers being among the first ones to enter the pitlane, Agustin exited just ahead of Hirrle, regaining the lost position as he made great use of the inside line going into Turn 2. Agustin later challenged Puumalainen, completing a nice and clean move to overtake him before his second pitstop.

Agustin's pitstop strategy paid off, as by the time everyone had stopped for the second time, he had also leapfrogged Morris and Greco, only missing out on Prevot by a couple of seconds. Towards the closing laps, Agustin was the protagonist of a fantastic four-way battle for 9th between him, Puumalainen, Greco and Hirrle. While Agustin defended brillitantly for many laps, he was ultimately overtaken by Puumlainen, with a minor incident with Greco leaving him behind all three of them. An engine failure with two laps remaining, while challenging the struggling one-stopper Poniatowski ended Agustin's day. The great defence was not enough for points.

Patrick's race took a turn for the worse as he made contact with Hahnel, after he locked his brakes while alongside the German driver. While Patrick's car took the worse part, suffering from heavy suspension damage, Hahnel had to retire after unexpectedly stalling his engine before returning to the track. With a damaged car and extra pitstops, Patrick was unfortunately never able to get back into the race, while another engine failure ended his race prematurely, with both Agustin and Patrick eventually classified 14th and 15th due to completing over 90% of the race distance.

Agustin Canapino (14th): "A good race, we made a step forwards with the race setup, although it wasn't enough, we need to continue improving. We risked a bit with early pitstops, and while the strategy worked and we moved up a few places, in the end it didn't pay off, but it was worth trying!"

Patrick De Wit (15th): "I had very little testing, so not really much to say. About Ronny's incident, I tried to overtake on the outside in Sector 1, but my rear end snapped under braking. I'm really sorry for Ronny (Hahnel). In the end, I finished 5 laps down on leader Huis with an engine failure, so I finished where I started, 15th."

World Series

Suffering from a technical issue, Giuseppe Marconi was only able to set the 17th fastest time in Pre-Qualifying, which unfortunately was not enough to qualify for a spot on the World Series race.

World Trophy

Martin Gosbee was the team's sole runner in Valencia, setting the 8th fastest time in the Qualifying session.

Martin drove a good race, driving in 4th place for most of the GP, again having a long battle against Ben Philips, just as in Canada, two weeks earlier. While looking set for a 4th place finish, Martin made good use of the rival's retirements, as he climbed up to 2nd after both Philips and Aalberts suffered technical issues in the closing laps, allowing Martin to take his first podium of the season.

Faster Than Speed is now looking forward to the following race at Silverstone. Florian Pechon took the British GP victory for FTS in the 2008 WS Advanced race, while Patrick De Wit scored World Championship podiums for the team in 2007 and 2009. Follow us on Facebook or Twitter for the lastest news from Great Britain, and stay tuned for the race's Live Broadcasts here!