Formula Regional European Championship by Alpine: Taponen claims double victory at the Hungaroring
The Hungaroring weekend of the Formula Regional European Championship by Alpine will be well remembered by the numerous fans who flocked to the track and by Tuukka Taponen, who in Hungary clinched two pole positions and two victories.
An uncatchable pace was shown by the young Ferrari Driver Academy driver in today’s race, where he led all 19 laps and set the fastest lap. An important result for the R-ace GP flag bearer, who also relaunched himself in the title race, closing the gap to the current championship leader Rafael Camara, now 46 points away. The Brazilian, also a Ferrari Driver Academy driver, crossed the finish line in second place this afternoon, but after the race, a 5-second penalty was handed to the Prema Racing driver for a first corner contact with teammate Ugo Ugochukwu. The incident occurred upon the return of the only safety car, following the accident involving Nicola Lacorte‘s (Trident Motorsport) car and Marta Garcia‘s (Iron Dames), which took both out of the race. Ugochukwu, who had occupied second position up to that point thanks to a brilliant start, lost two positions but Camara’s penalty, which relegated him to sixth, opened the door for him to claim the third step of the podium.
Benefiting from the situation was also Brando Badoer (Van Amersfoort Racing), who was promoted to second place, allowing him to go home with two silver medals. After the neutralization, another Prema driver, James Wharton, came under the spotlight for making two overtakes that ultimately placed him fourth. The young Red Bull Academy driver, Enzo Deligny (fifth overall), also performed well today, claiming the top step of the rookie podium, ahead of another contender, Pedro Clerot (Van Amersfoort Racing), who finished eighth overall ahead of the two Sainteloc Racing cars of Théophile Naël and Matteo De Palo, in ninth and tenth positions respectively. Dropping to seventh, following a two-position penalty for contact with Deligny during a heated phase of the race, was Alessandro Giusti (ART Grand Prix), who nevertheless managed to remain in the points.
A notable mention also goes to Michael Belov, returning to the international series this weekend with Trident, who finished eleventh in Race 2.
“It was a perfect weekend where we achieved the maximum, with two pole positions and two victories. Surely, we made great progress compared to the start of the season, especially with the feeling with the car, which this weekend was really perfect. We need to continue this way and stay focused on the upcoming races.” - Tuukka Taponen.
The Formula Regional European Championship by Alpine will return to the track in three weeks in Italy on the famous ups and downs of Mugello during the weekend of July 13 and 14.