Slater keeps winning, Al Dhaheri goes back to podium at Hungaroring
PREMA Racing delivered a 1-2 finish to wrap up round 4 of the Formula Regional European Championship by Alpine at the Hungaroring this weekend, as the team maximized its results in a challenging weekend at the Hungarian venue.
Freddie Slater took advantage of the opportunity when the leader slowed down in Race 2 and sailed to take his third win of the year after a fifth place in Race 1. The British racer, who is now close to the lead in driver points, led teammate Rashid al Dhaheri in a strong team performance on Sunday.
Al Dhaheri was especially impressive in qualifying, taking P1 in his Qualifying 2 group after collecting valuable points with P4 in Race 1. Starting from the front row in P2, he then secured his second podium of the year and his best series result by finishing in the same position.
Jack Beeton had an up-and-down weekend as he could not maximize qualifying and was hampered by contacts in both races, with P14 in Race 1 being his best result of the weekend. On the other hand, Doriane Pin showed consistent progress, although qualifying was still a tricky point for her. Still, she gained confidence and pace, posting a double top-20, and will be back stronger for the next round, close to home at Circuit Paul Ricard.
#14 - Rashid Al Dhaheri
"A solid weekend overall, we got a lot of points, and it was good to improve. Even though this was not the strongest track for us as a team, we were able to get really good results, among the best in the season so far. We got pole in our group and fought for victory. Unfortunately, it didn't go fully our way, but we got solid results. The team did a great job, and we keep moving forward."
#27 - Freddie Slater
"Getting the win was a great way to finish the weekend. We got a little lucky at the end as we didn't have the pace to win, but we take the opportunities when we get them. We have some work to do to get back to the front, as we struggled this weekend. I look forward to Paul Ricard next, which should be good fun."
#28 - Doriane Pin
"It was a challenging weekend, but we have to take the positive out of it. I think the pace was decent, even if I didn't put everything together in the qualifying. We are getting there, and performance is getting better. We have to keep improving the racecraft, and we are looking forward to the French race in Le Castellet. We will continue working, and I think we can deliver something good there."
#45 - Jack Beeton
"Quite a tough weekend. It started off with an issue that put me off, but we learned the track in practice. I got P5 in qualifying 1. Putting everything together, it could have been a P3. In Race 1, I kept the position, as it's difficult to overtake here, until a car hit me at the re-start, which made me fall back to P15. I eventually finished in P14. On Sunday I struggled with T1 in qualifying and qualified P9 in my group, but in the race, I was fighting back until contact forced me to stop. Paul Ricard is a track where I have some experience on, so I'm looking forward to it."