– Ferrari Driver Academy junior scores again at Zandvoort
– Swede gains 11 places in Race 2 fightback
Dino Beganovic tied his best result of the season so far in round five of the Formula Regional European Championship at Zandvoort, where he also performed a standout recovery from the back of the 32-car grid.
The Ferrari Driver Academy member enjoyed a strong start to the Dutch meeting, going second quickest in a wet first practice session on Friday before qualifying a fine sixth on the grid for Saturday’s Race 1.
Once there, Beganovic lost a bit of ground on a busy opening lap, but still came home in eighth place to equal his previous personal best from the opening round in Imola.
“It was a good first race, and we actually had the pace for more but got stuck behind some slower cars,” Dino Beganovic explains. “This weekend overall has been a step in the right direction from a pace perspective.”
Eager to add to his points tally on Sunday, Beganovic’s prospects took an unfortunate blow in second qualifying, however, as the Swedish series rookie was restricted to just a single proper lap in a heavily truncated, red-flagged session.
When his solitary lap – again good enough for the top ten – moreover was cancelled for a small track limits infringement, Beganovic was forced to take up a lowly 30th on the grid for Race 2.
In a determined fightback, Beganovic set about carving his way through the field at a track known for its lack of overtaking opportunities, making up 11 places to finish 19th despite being run off the road at one stage.
“Second qualifying was chaotic and frustrating given the pace we had this weekend,” says Beganovic. “It’s not easy to overtake at this track, so I knew it was going to be hard, but I did my best and it was actually a really rewarding race to drive. I think I did the maximum from where we started, making up 11 places around here!”
Beganovic recorded the fourth (Race 1) and fifth (Race 2) fastest lap of this weekend’s races, underlining the pace at hand for the Prema Powerteam driver.
“The team has done a great job to recover some of our performance from earlier in the year and take us back towards the front, and I think this weekend was good proof of the effort everyone is making at the moment,” Beganovic concludes. “We still have some work to do, but we’re heading in the right direction and I was the happiest I’ve been with the car in quite a while.
“I am looking forward to the second half of the season and I think we have reason to be optimistic after this weekend.”
With half the season now completed, Formula Regional European Championship enters a one-month break before racing resumes at Belgium’s Spa-Francorchamps on July 23-25. Dino Beganovic sits 16th in the overall classification at the halfway mark.
RESULTS
Formula Regional European Championship
Rd. 5 – Zandvoort (NED)
RACE 1 (view full results)
1: G. Saucy (SUI), ART Grand Prix
2: G. Minì (ITA), ART Grand Prix
3: H. David (FRA), R-Ace GP
4: P. Aron (EST), Prema Powerteam
5: F. Colapinto (ARG), MP Motorsport
—
8: D. Beganovic (SWE), Prema Powerteam
RACE 2 (view full results)
1: G. Saucy (SUI), ART Grand Prix
2: F. Colapinto (ARG), MP Motorsport
3: G. Minì (ITA), ART Grand Prix
4: W. Alatalo (FIN), Arden Motorsport
5: F. Pizzi (ITA), Van Amersfoort Racing
—
19: D. Beganovic (SWE), Prema Powerteam
CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS
Formula Regional European Championship
After 5/10 rounds
Overall (full standings)
1: G. Saucy (SUI), 160 p.
2: H. David (FRA), 96 p.
3: I. Hadjar (FRA), 93 p.
4: Z. Maloney (BRB), 91 p.
5: P. Aron (EST), 90 p.
—
16: D. Beganovic (SWE), 12 p.
Rookies (full standings)
1: I. Hadjar (FRA), 93 p.
2: G. Minì (ITA), 89 p.
3: M. Boya (ESP), 29 p.
4: T. ten Brinke (NED), 28 p.
5: K. Haverkort (NED), 16 p.
—
7: D. Beganovic (SWE), 12 p.
