PREMA Racing took home two podium finishes at Misano World Circuit as the opening round of the Formula Regional European Championship went underway in perfect racing conditions at the famous Adriatic venue.
Race 1 saw Rashid Al Dhaheri secure third place by converting his second-row starting spot after finishing P2 in group qualifying. The Emirati had a solid race run and continued to put in the effort with P3 in Qualifying 2. Unfortunately, after a hard-fought start, he was hit by another car and sent spinning in Race 2 and had to come back for an unscheduled stop to replace a punctured tyre.
Freddie Slater ended up second in Race 2 with a spectacular last-gasp challenge for the win, although the technical Misano venue didn't provide him with a lot of passing opportunities. Starting second with a P1 in his qualifying group, he secured a solid amount of points with a fierce charge. After having claimed pole, the British racer was hit from behind in Race 1, which resulted in a DNF.
Australian Jack Beeton collected two points finishes after some qualifying challenges. Starting from P9, he fought back to P6 in Race 1, before making more gains from P11 to P8 in Race 2.
#14 - Rashid Al Dhaheri
"Overall it was a positive weekend, albeit with a sour end. However, we have to look at the round as a whole. We showed great potential and we were quite strong. We got a podium in the first race, which was really great, for the points and as the start of the season. The pace was really good in race 2 too. I feel we could have been a little better in qualifying but, in all, we have great potential for the season, we keep improving and maximizing it."
#27 - Freddie Slater
"Having one pole position and P2 overall with P1 in our group in Qualifying was super positive. The pace has been amazing, we just haven't had the results with some unfortunate moments that are always going to happen in motorsports and hopefully we got out of our way early. Race 1 didn't last very long but we made a bit further in Race 2, which was positive. On this track it is super difficult to follow but we managed quite well, finishing very close to Giltaire. We had a very positive pace which we hope to take into the next round. Massive thank you to the team for doing a fantastic job all weekend."
#45 - Jack Beeton
"It was an okay weekend. We came in with high expectations as we were really quick in preseason testing. The pace still felt good in practice, but then unfortunately we struggled a bit in the first qualifying and was P9 overall. Still in the top-10 overall, still decent and we knew we could move forward. We ended up P6 in Race 1 with a few good overtakes. We struggled a little bit again in Qualifying 2, but then I made a few more overtakes and switchbacks in Race 2, and managed to finish in P7. Happy with the pace and progress. We need to work to get the new tyre in the performance window for Spa in a few weeks."