– Swedish youngster hamstrung by two engine changes in Abu Dhabi
– P5 finish marks best result of challenging weekend
Dino Beganovic endured a troublesome weekend marred by recurring technical issues in the opening round of the Formula Regional Asian Championship at Abu Dhabi’s Yas Marina Circuit.
The Ferrari Driver Academy member was strong out of the blocks by topping the first unofficial test session on Wednesday, but then went backwards in the subsequent sessions as a lack of engine power was discovered by his Mumbai Falcons engineers.
The issue necessitated an initial engine change after qualifying – where Beganovic had still managed a respectable P6 and P7 in the two timed sessions, just a quarter of a second off pole in the 27-car field.
Beganovic improved to fifth by the chequered flag in Race 1 of the triple-header meeting, but the engine issues persisted, requiring a second change in as many days.
In Sunday’s Race 2, Beganovic was jostling for position with Race 1 winner Sebastian Montoya and eventual Race 3 winner Gabriele Minì when contact was made, putting Beganovic out of the race and netting him a five-place grid penalty for the weekend finale.
From his midfield (P12) Race 3 grid slot, Beganovic then survived an eventful final race to come home in 11th.
“It’s been a disappointing weekend, with so much potential coming to nothing,” says Dino Beganovic. “We’ve been down on top speed all week, and the team has really done their all with two engine changes, but unfortunately it hasn’t helped. Even in the last race, it was still the same. It’s tough, because the driving actually looks extremely competitive on the data and we all agree that the potential is there to run up front. I feel ready to win now, I feel confident I can do it, but sometimes this is the reality of motorsport and we’ll obviously do everything we can to fix it before the next race.”
Beganovic and his Formula Regional Asian Championship peers are slated to be back on track in just a few days’ time, moving to the nearby emirate of Dubai for Round 2 of the campaign.
RESULTS
Formula Regional Asian Championship
Rd. 1 – Abu Dhabi (UAE)
FURTHER INFORMATION
www.dinoracing.se
www.f3asia.com
