F.Regional: Beganovic shines at Spa-Francorchamps

The FDA driver had the best weekend of his brief career to date in the category, on his first ever visit to the challenging Belgian track, finishing fourth and best rookie in Race-1.

Dino Beganovic came away from the sixth round of the European Formula Regional championship with an excellent points haul. Even though this was his very first time racing at the difficult Spa-Francorchamps circuit, he was a front runner in Race-1, held in conditions rendered very tricky because of heavy rain. The 17-year old Swede produced a mature performance confirming the progress he has made, as he was the first rookie past the flag.

Race-1. The minutes before the start were hectic as a few drops of rain were already falling as the field lined up on the grid. Of the 33 drivers, very few opted to start on slick tyres, with most of them, including Beganovic going for wets. He maintained fourth place after the start and then lost a place on the opening lap to team-mate Vidales, who later spun, bringing out the Safety Car, which stayed on track for a considerable length of time, before the field was released in heavy rain, which significantly reduced the visibility, catching out several drivers. Despite his lack of experience in the category and of Spa, Beganovic did a great job to take the chequered flag in fourth place, just 4 seconds behind the third placed driver. However, Dino still made it to the podium, as the highest placed rookie on what was a demanding day for all the drivers.

Race-2. Beganovic faced a tough time in the second race, following a difficult wet qualifying which meant he started from 23rd on the grid. He got off the line very well, making up three places to be 20th and then he settled into a strong pace, making up a further two places on the next lap. The Safety Car came out on lap 5 and after the restart at the end of lap 7, Beganovic began to push, making up a place on each lap to take the chequered flag in 14th place. No points therefore, but his pace had been as strong as in the first race.

Spielberg. The FIA Formula Regional championship was originally due to head to the Nurburgring in a fortnight’s time. However, at Spa it was announced that due to the heavy flooding that recently hit the Eifel region, the Nurburgring facility was being used as a rescue facility and could not host any racing. Therefore the next round will be at Spielberg over the weekend of 12 September.