Pole-sitter Felipe Fernández took his third win in the Diamond Trophy this season after finishing third in Race 1 at Spa-Francorchamps, dropping back from the lead on lap one into the clutches of 2022 champion Franco Girolami.

Fernández had taken his and the GOAT Racing team’s first pole position in qualifying, but after a slow start, he fell behind Ruben Volt’s Honda at the exit of the Kemmel straight, before losing second place to Girolami at La Source after the restart.

“I’m pretty happy with third. I think we had the pace though to finish in at least second place,” said Fernández.

“I lost the lead on lap one when I went side-by-side with Volt at Eau Rouge, as it’s hard to keep the speed when you do that at Eau Rouge, and he passed me.

“I then made a mistake after the safety car and lost a few seconds at the restart and that allowed Girolami to pass me at the first corner. I had more pace than him, but it was impossible to get close enough to overtake him back.

“I tried to get past him on the last lap, I pushed hard at Blanchimont but went wide and overheated the tyres, so that was it, third. It was a good race, I’m not fully happy with the result, but it’s OK.”

Fernández is now up to sixth place in the drivers’ standings, while he now shares the lead of the Diamond Trophy with Audi driver Nicola Baldan.