– Scuderia Ferrari Driver Academy racer victorious at wet/dry Spa
– Swede remains in championship contention heading into Monza season-finale
Dino Beganovic converted pole position into his second FIA Formula 3 win of the season during a weekend of mixed conditions at Spa-Francorchamps.
Beganovic took victory in Saturday’s sprint race at the famed Belgian circuit, battling his way back into the lead after initially slipping to second place having started from pole position.
In doing so, Beganovic backed up his maiden F3 win from earlier this year when he won the feature race in Melbourne. It also means he remains in championship contention with just one round remaining this season.
“It was a good race, and I’m really happy with the way I executed it,” says Dino Beganovic. “I had a poor start on the wetter side of the grid, but managed to reclaim the lead and take the win. Even though it was a sprint race, I’ll definitely take it and it meant some really important points in the championship.”
Beganovic had gone 12th quickest in Friday qualifying, and duly started Sunday’s feature race from the same position. In a race featuring three safety car interventions, not many green-flag laps were completed, providing Beganovic little time to make any real progress. He ultimately made up one position, finishing 11th.
“The feature race was not very eventful,” Beganovic concludes. “I got on the outside in Turn 1 and lost a few places, but then got it back and finished 11th. No points for that, and overall it’s been quite a difficult weekend again with some lack of pace in qualifying especially. Getting the win yesterday was a nice boost heading into the summer break, though. We are still in the game and we will fight until the end.”
Beganovic’s efforts in the Belgian Ardennes means the Swede now moves up to fifth in the FIA F3 standings, 29 points off the lead with 39 still up for grabs in the Monza season-finale on August 30-September 1. It also helped PREMA Racing secure the teams’ title with one round to spare.
RESULTS
FIA Formula 3 Championship
Rd. 9 – Spa-Francorchamps (BEL)
|| Race 1 (full results)
1: D. Beganovic (SWE), PREMA Racing
2: G. Minì (ITA), PREMA Racing
3: N. León (MEX), Van Amersfoort Racing
|| Race 2 (full results)
1: C. Voisin (GBR), Rodin Motorsport
2: S. Montoya (COL), Campos Racing
3: L. Fornaroli (ITA), Trident
—
11: D. Beganovic (SWE), PREMA Racing
CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS
FIA Formula 3 Championship
After 9/10 rounds (full standings)
1: L. Fornaroli (ITA), Trident, 129 p.
2: G. Minì (ITA), PREMA Racing, 128 p.
3: L. Browning (GBR), Hitech Pulse-Eight, 123 p.
4: A. Lindblad (GBR), PREMA Racing, 113 p.
5: D. Beganovic (SWE), PREMA Racing, 100 p.
