Formula Regional Asia: Leclerc wins to extend lead

Charles Leclerc took his third win of the season in Dubai to consolidate his championship lead. Bearman on the podium on his debut, Beganovic out of luck.

In the fourth and penultimate round of the Formula Regional Asia series, Arthur Leclerc had another good weekend, to consolidate his lead in the championship. The 21 year old Ferrari Driver Academy student took one win, a fourth and a fifth place in Dubai and now has 178 points, 40 more than Spain’s Pepe Marti (Pinnacle Motorsport,) the only driver who is still in the hunt for the title.

Key moments. Highlight of the weekend for Arthur was Race 3, which he started from second on the grid. At the halfway point, he attacked the leader Paul Aaron (Abu Dhabi Racing by Prema) to take the lead and the chequered flag by a comfortable margin of over five seconds. “It’s been a fantastic weekend,” commented Arthur. “It looked good in qualifying where I performed better than in previous rounds and then in the race, I had a good pace which meant I was always a front-runner. Of course I’m very happy to end the weekend with a win and now we will prepare for the final round, when we should also be in good shape.”

Good start. Oliver Bearman also enjoyed his very first race meeting as a Ferrari Driver Academy student driving a Formula Regional car. The 16 year old Englishman went well, finishing seventh in Race 1, followed by a brilliant third place in Race 2. In the last race, Bearman was in the top eight for over half the race but had to pit to change the front wing damaged in a collision and finished towards the back of the field. “I’m reasonably pleased with my first Formula Regional weekend,” commented Oliver. “We got two very good results in qualifying (sixth in both sessions) and I am pleased to have got on the podium. Of course there are a few areas where I can improve, but there were also lots of positives to take away. Now I can’t wait to go racing at Yas Marina!”

Unlucky. Dino Beganovic is also keen to get back on track in Abu Dhabi for the final round. In Dubai, the 17 year old Swede showed good potential as usual, but was unable to convert it into points, with a mistake in Race 1 and a technical problem in Race 3. “It just wasn’t my weekend, given that I scored no points,” explained Dino. “But there were still some positive. Qualifying went very well with a third and a fourth place from the two sessions. But in the races I didn’t have much luck, especially in the third one, when I had to stop with a fuel pressure problem when I was third and had set the fastest race lap. I hope to have a more straightforward weekend in Yas Marina and I’m sure I can end this championship on a high note.”