PREMA Racing set for opening round of FRECA season
The Formula Regional European Championship by Alpine will be off to its 2022 opener this weekend at Monza, and PREMA Racing will line up at the legendary Italian venue with four cars. The team will rely on a diverse mix of drivers to approach the highly-competitive series after achieving remarkable results in the 2021 finale, which was also held at Monza.
Two of the drivers, Paul Aron and Dino Beganovic, will be returning to the series. The 18-year-old Estonian, a Junior Driver for the Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team, will be starting his third consecutive season in the championship, aiming for a major breakthrough after claiming his first wins last season.
Coming from the Ferrari Driver Academy, 18-year-old Dino Beganovic will return for his second FRECA season. Having claimed his first Formula Regional win in the Asian series, he is now set to continue with the positive momentum he already experienced at the end of 2021.
Sebastian Montoya also experienced a brilliant run in the early-season Formula Regional Asian Championship. Moving up from Formula 4, the Colombian-American proved to be a quick learner, with three poles and two wins in the three events he entered.
Also coming from Formula 4, Hamda Al Qubaisi will keep climbing her learning curve as she approaches the challenging transition to the Formula Regional environment.
As demonstrated in collective testing early in the month, the FRECA pack has not become any less competitive, with most of the 37-car pack covered by less than one second.
The series will retain its 2021 format with two qualifying sessions and two races with no reverse grid, but will introduce a push-to-pass system to temporarily increase the car’s power and provide additional passing opportunities.
Rene Rosin - Team Principal
"We look forward to being back in this really challenging championship. Testing went well but the sessions proved how tight the field is so we know that every detail can make a difference and preparation must be perfect even if we finished 2021 on a high note. We have a good mix of drivers with Paul returning for his third year in the series, Dino coming in for his second, and Sebastian making his debut after impressing in the Emirates as well as Hamda. Hopefully, we will be able to do everything right and be competitive right away."