Sebastian Wheldon completed a clean sweep at Zandvoort during the second of eight rounds of the FIA Formula Regional European Championship. The MP Motorsport driver claimed victory in the second race of the weekend to become the first driver to score two wins this season, further extending his lead at the top of the championship standings and holding a 12-point advantage over CL Motorsport’s Reno Francot, who enjoyed a strong home event with a fourth-place finish in the first race followed by a podium in Race 2.
After a challenging weekend, pole-sitter Kean Nakamura-Berta (Prema Racing) bounced back to finish second, setting the fastest lap of the race. Emanuele Olivieri also maintained his perfect Rookie record, taking a second consecutive class victory. The R-ace GP driver finished an impressive third overall in Race 1 before adding fifth place overall in Race 2.
Starting from pole position, Nakamura-Berta made a strong getaway and fended off Sebastian Wheldon to retain the lead. Reno Francot held third place ahead of Rashid Al Dhaheri and Zhenrui Chi. Tomass Stolcermanis gained one position on the opening lap to move up to sixth, closely followed by Emanuele Olivieri.
At the end of the opening lap, a spectacular incident involving Andrija Kostić, Saqer Almosaherji, Giovanni Maschio and Kay Daryanani brought out the red flags. Following a short stoppage, the race resumed behind the safety car. At the restart, Nakamura-Berta once again controlled the pace at the front, with Wheldon remaining in second. Behind them, Francot successfully defended third place from an attack by Al Dhaheri.
At the end of lap five, Wheldon overtook Nakamura-Berta to seize the lead, with the top four covered by less than one second. Further down the order, Olivieri passed Stolcermanis to move into sixth, while Alexandre Munoz also gained a position to move up to seventh.
Wheldon then began to pull away, extending his advantage over Nakamura-Berta to more than one second. With four minutes remaining, Al Dhaheri launched an attack on Francot, but the Dutchman from CL Motorsport successfully held on to third place.
Shortly afterwards, Nakamura-Berta set the fastest lap of the race. At the same time, Maksimilian Popov missed his braking point at the end of the straight, making slight contact with Andrea Dupé before coming to a halt at the side of the track.
A second safety car period followed, setting up a final restart with just one lap remaining. Nakamura-Berta immediately attempted to challenge Wheldon for the lead, but the MP Motorsport driver expertly defended his position to secure victory by just 0.060 seconds. Nakamura-Berta crossed the line in second, with Francot completing the podium.
Sebastian Wheldon (MP Motorsport, Race 2 winner): “It was a pretty good race. We knew we had to replicate yesterday’s qualifying performance, and we managed to secure pole position in our group. I got a good start and had a nice battle with Nakamura for the lead. Compared to the Red Bull Ring, the team has made a lot of progress with the car, which is really encouraging. We’re heading to Spa full of confidence and looking forward to the next round.”
Kean Nakamura-Berta (Prema Racing, 2nd): “I had a good battle with Seb. The last couple of races haven't been the best for us, so it's good to score some points for the championship and, more importantly, to come away with a solid result again. We've shown that our qualifying pace and our overall race pace are very strong. I'm confident that will continue because the team is doing an excellent job. We just need to keep moving forward. The championship is still very long.”
Reno Francot (CL Motorsport, 3rd): “We didn't really have the pace this race, so we'll have to look into why that was. But in the end, I think I drove a really good race, especially defending from P4 [Al Dhaheri], who was putting me under pressure the whole time. Racing at home and seeing all the Dutch supporters really means a lot to me. I'm very grateful to have the opportunity to race here and finish on the podium. Obviously, I did win a race earlier this season, but it's really important to stay consistent, and that's exactly what I'll be aiming for when we head to Spa.”
Emanuele Olivieri (R-ace GP,Rookie winner): "Today's race was a bit tougher than yesterday. The start wasn't ideal and I lost a position straight away, so from that point on it was quite difficult. Our pace wasn't as strong as it had been yesterday, which made overtaking really challenging. I was saving some Race Mode for the final two laps, hoping to make a move towards the end of the race. Unfortunately, the Safety Car didn't really help my chances. Still, we scored good points for the team and that's what matters. We have strong momentum at the moment and we're confident we can fight for victories again in the next races."
The championship now heads to Belgium’s Spa-Francorchamps circuit (29-31 May) for the third round of the season.
