Villagómez lifted by first point, VAR progress

Rafael Villagómez says he and Van Amersfoort Racing are “going in the right way” after he scored his first Formula 3 point in a race won by teammate Franco Colapinto.

The Argentinean claimed Van Amersfoort’s first F3 win in only its second round of competing in the championship after passing Caio Collet on the final lap of the Sprint Race at Imola.

Villagómez was one of the Sprint Race’s biggest movers as he surged forwards from 20th on the grid to creep into the points by classifying 10th. It marked a first point for Villagómez in his sophomore season in the category.

“I think we started the weekend quite well in free practice, then qualifying didn’t go our way, but we knew we had much more potential so in the race it was about making those positions,” explained the Mexican driver.

“Last year I was quite close to the points but never there. in Bahrain we were pretty close, but finally it feels good to get it. It’s only the second round, but during testing we’ve been working hard as a team, and me as a driver, so that and Franco’s win shows we’re going in the right way.”

The strong speed displayed across the course of the 20-lap race acted as further encouragement for Villagómez.

“Most of the times during in-season testing we had the most laps as we were working on race pace mostly,” he commented. “It is where we saw we were struggling the most, so we wanted to get control of that, and we’re going in the right way.”

A similar recovery is needed for Villagómez in Sunday’s Feature Race if he is to add to his point, as he faces the task of once more starting from 20th on the grid.

“Anything is possible,” he asserted. “Even though it seems as if it is difficult to overtake on this track, today it wasn’t the case. You need to be on it every lap, so tomorrow I hope to do the same, or even better.”