– Prema Powerteam Swede on the podium again at Zandvoort
– Good points haul despite so-so feel for Ferrari Driver Academy racer
Dino Beganovic leads the 2022 Formula Regional European Championship at the halfway point, with the Swedish teenager again taking a podium finish this weekend at the Dutch circuit of Zandvoort.
Beganovic put in a strong performance in both qualifying sessions at the fast and flowing, old-school track, sealing sixth and second on the grid respectively for the weekend’s two races.
In Race 1, the Ferrari Driver Academy member performed a measured drive to P5, and was later promoted to fourth as a fellow rival picked up a post-race penalty for overuse of the push-to-pass overtaking aid system.
In the second race on Sunday, Beganovic then sealed his eighth podium in ten races with third place, having held second for much of the 30-minute encounter despite not being perfectly at ease with his Prema Powerteam machine.
“It’s been OK, but not our best weekend and to be honest I haven’t had a great feeling with the car here,” says Dino Beganovic. “We’we worked hard to get it in the zone, but the balance just hasn’t been there and I have struggled in the middle sector especially. The bar has been set incredibly high from the previous races, though, and I think it’s a signal of strength that we can come through a challenging weekend like this and still actually pick up a podium.”
With five out of ten rounds now completed, Beganovic leads the Formula Regional European Championship standings by 36 points from Estonian team-mate Paul Aron.
“It’s been a fantastic first half of the year, and to lead the championship halfway through is obviously very encouraging,” Dino Beganovic concludes. “We have two weeks to go into the detailed analysis of what happened here this weekend, why we weren’t quite on the pace, and we will learn everything we can to make sure we’re not leaving any stone unturned in the title fight going forward.”
The Formula Regional European Championship resumes at Hungary’s Hungaroring on July 8-10.
RESULTS
Formula Regional European Championship
Rd. 5 – Zandvoort (NED)
RACE 1 (full results)
1: P. Aron (EST), Prema Powerteam
2: K. Haverkort (NED), Van Amersfoort Racing
3: G. Minì (ITA), ART Grand Prix
4: D. Beganovic (SWE), Prema Powerteam
5: M. Boya (ESP), ART Grand Prix
RACE 2 (full results)
1: P. Aron (EST), Prema Powerteam
2: G. Minì (ITA), ART Grand Prix
3: D. Beganovic (SWE), Prema Powerteam
4: S. Montoya (COL), Prema Powerteam
5: L. Fornaroli (ITA), Trident
CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS
Formula Regional European Championship
After 5/10 rounds (full standings)
1: D. Beganovic (SWE), 174 p.*
2: P. Aron (EST), 138 p.
3: G. Minì (ITA), 135 p.
4: H. David (FRA), 100 p.
5: K. Haverkort (NED), 97 p.
* Paul Ricard Race 2 podium under appeal. Dino originally finished second in the race, but was subsequently disqualified for an alleged technical irregularity. Prema have appealed the decision. With official confirmation pending, the current championship standings shown here denote zero points for Paul Ricard Race 2.
