Giacomo Altoè’s title charge fades at Zolder after technical troubles

16-year-old Giacomo Altoè has plummeted from second to ninth in the drivers’ standings after the first three races of the Zolder weekend, after scoring just two points after overheating and then an engine change robbed him of any points in the first two races.

Altoè is paired up this weekend with Spa-Francorchamps front-runner Frédéric Caprasse, after racing with Romain de Leval at Spa and then Guillaume Mondron at Zandvoort, racing in the Volkswagen Golf of Delahaye Racing, but was forced to retire soon after taking over the wheel of the Golf in the qualifying race due to overheating.

“We had a problem with the radiator, and we lost all the water,” said Altoè to TouringCarTimes. “I didn’t do Race 1 as they found a new problem this morning and changed the engine, so for Race 2 I started from the pit lane.”

Altoè managed to catch the Audi RS 3 of Paul Sieljes but was unable to pass, having to settle for ninth and picking up two points, but is now 73 points adrift of team-mate Guillaume Mondron in the standings.

On whether he’ll be back at Zolder again next month for the fourth round of the season, Altoè added: “I don’t know yet. As now the championship doesn’t look too good.”