The Formula Regional European Championship by Alpine fired up its engines this morning in Monaco, where the first race took place during one of the most fascinating weekends of the season.
The young standard bearer for R-ace GP, Hadrien David, took an important victory after setting the fastest time in Group A yesterday which granted him the pole position in the first round.
The French driver was able to keep the lead from start to finish, leaving behind him the championship leader, Dino Beganovic (Prema Racing), who reconfirmed his supremacy in the series when climbed on the second step of the podium. Also Kas Haverkort (Van Amersfoort Racing) did well as he drove a flawless race and took the third place, ahead of Gabriele Minì (ART Grand Prix) and Michael Belov (MP Motorsport).
Laurens Van Hoepen was the fastest rookie. The Dutchman racing for the ART Grand Prix team finished the race in eighth place behind Gabriel Bortoleto (R-ace GP) and Mari Boya (ART Grand Prix), who were sixth and seventh respectively.
David was flawless at the start, taking the lead ahead of Beganovic and Haverkort. Fourth was Minì, in turn chased by Belov.
After the first few laps, David and Beganovic slightly outdistanced the rest of the group. Then the red flag came out for a contact at the Grand Hotel Hairpin between Sami Meguetounif (MP Motorsport) and Esteban Masson (FA Racing) that blocked the passage of the other cars.
The race restarted behind the safety car, with less than five minutes to go and David still in front. Minì tried to attack Haverkort, while Belov was chased by Bortoleto.
Everything remained unchanged until the chequered flag waved. David took his first win of the season. For the fifth time out of five Beganovic finished on the podium and Haverkort got a good third place.
“It was a beautiful race” David said “Winning here in Monaco was a dream come true and at the same time it is a very important result for my season. Last year I came close to winning, but this time we did it. Hopefully we can be on the podium tomorrow and gain some more points.”
“We had a fantastic race today” Beganovic said “I started from the front row and managed to finish second. I am also satisfied with our race pace. I tried to push to pressure Hadrien, but still got a nice podium in a gorgeous setting like the Formula 1 weekend.”
“It’s wonderful to be here in Monaco and to get on the podium in this race” Haverkort said “We had a red flag during the race and once we were back on track, we didn’t have much time to continue racing, but in any case, it was a great race. I am grateful to the team for giving me a perfect car.”