Arthur Leclerc clinched the title after Race 1, Dino Beganovic ended his time in F. Regional Asia with two second places and Oliver Bearman was in the points.
The curtain came down on the Formula Regional Asia series with three races at the Yas Marina circuit. Arthur Leclerc clinched the title by winning the first race and Dino Beganovic also flew the flag for the Ferrari Driver Academy, taking two brilliant second places.
Lightning starts. The 17 year old Swede came home behind Leclerc in Race 1, getting off the line well to move up to second right from the start. He started the next race from ninth on the grid and once again got away quickly to move up to sixth. There were two Safety Car periods and at the final restart, Beganovic overtook no fewer than four of his rivals to take second place, just one tenth behind the winner Gabriele Mini and just under a second ahead of Leclerc. The Monegasque also did well to go from tenth on the grid to third at the flag.
Race-3. After 17 consecutive races in the points, the final race of the round and the championship turned out to be the first time Leclerc failed to finish in the top ten. A spin shortly after the start dropped him to the back of the pack, but he eventually fought his way back to 14th place behind Oliver Bearman. In Race 1, the Englishman finished sixth, but in Race 2, he was eliminated after just a few laps, following a collision with Paul Aron. Beganovic was seventh in the final race, which featured few changes of position and two appearances from the Safety Car. Dino ended the series in fifth place on 130 points. “I had a strong race pace which allowed me to move up the order and finish second twice,” he commented. “I think we did the best we could following a strange qualifying when we were only quick in the first run. It was nice to take two second places and there are plenty of positives to take away from this experience, which will be useful preparation for the European season.”
Ollie. Bearman had some difficult moments over the weekend, but the overall feeling was positive. “This weekend was more complicated than expected,” explained the Englishman. “But generally, this track time was very useful. I think I’ve learned a lot and it’s been great preparation for the season that awaits me in Formula 3.” In the six races he contested, Ollie took one third place and a seventh in Dubai and a sixth in Abu Dhabi, to finish 15th in the series.