Sebastian Wheldon secured the first pole position of the FIA Formula Regional European Championship weekend at Zandvoort. Having dominated Thursday’s collective tests and topped the opening Free Practice session on Friday, the MP Motorsport driver continued his impressive form by setting the fastest time in Qualifying 1.
Kean Nakamura-Berta topped Group A, but will start Race 1 from the back of the grid after being disqualified from the qualifying results. The sanction followed a parc fermé infringement. Team-mate Tomass Stolcermanis was handed the same penalty and will also line up at the rear of the field.
Group A
In the first session, Rodin Motorsport’s Gabriel Gomez was the first driver to break the 1m31s barrier, soon followed by Nakamura-Berta, who moved to the top of the timesheets with a 1:30.856. The Prema Racing driver then found more than half a second on his next attempt, posting a 1:30.136 with just over two minutes remaining – the session’s quickest lap, wich remained unbeaten until the chequered flag. Behind him, Emanuele Olivieri (R-ace GP) climbed to second place, but was edged out in the closing moments by Stolcermanis, whose 1:30.334 completed a Prema Racing one-two. Current championship leader Reno Francot (CL Motorsport) secured the fourth-fastest time.
Group B
In Group B, Wheldon immediately set the pace, posting a 1:29.943 and becoming the only driver to break the 1m30s barrier. Salim Hanna secured second place in the third Prema Racing Tatuus T-326 with a lap of 1:30.071. Behind them came Alexandre Munoz (ART Grand Prix), while MP Motorsport pair Alexander Abkhazava and Zhenrui Chi rounded out the top five.
Sebastian Wheldon (MP Motorsport): "Overall, it was a really solid lap. It was a shame to make a mistake in the final corner on my last flying lap, but I’m very happy with the result. I can only imagine how the team is feeling, as this is their home circuit, and securing pole position here makes it even more special."
The first of the weekend’s two 30-minute races will get underway this afternoon at 16:45 local time and will be streamed live on the official YouTube channel @fiaformularegionaleu, as well as by more than 70 broadcasters across over 200 territories worldwide, including ACI Sport TV. Where to watch.
