Spain continues to smile on James Wharton, who once again took center stage this morning by securing his second consecutive pole position (and his fifth of the season) on the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, host of the penultimate round of the Formula Regional European Championship by Alpine.
The Australian ace, winner of yesterday’s race, was celebrated by Prema Racing as the team mathematically secured the team title. Wharton showed unstoppable pace in today’s qualifying session, setting the fastest lap of 1’35″897, outpacing rookie Pedro Clerot by less than two-tenths. The Van Amersfoort Racing driver, one of the quickest throughout the session, is eager to make up for his retirement in yesterday’s race, where he was knocked out at the first corner following a collision. Also quick was Kanato Le, representing the local team G4 Racing, who secured his best qualifying result of the season by earning a place on the third row, starting fifth on the grid. Behind him were two more rookies: Enzo Peugeot (Saintéloc Racing) and Noah Strømsted (RPM), the leader of the rookie standings, who completed the top five in Group B. Tuukka Taponen (R-ace GP) finished sixth and will need to focus on a strong start to remain in contention for the title battle against Rafael Camara (Prema Racing).
Brazilian driver Camara, the current championship leader, put on a strong performance in Group A, where he battled for the top spot with ART Grand Prix’s Alessandro Giusti. In the end, it was the Williams Academy driver who came out on top, securing a front-row start for this afternoon’s race. Camara will start from the second row after outpacing Roman Bilinski (Trident), who finished third, followed by Brando Badoer (Van Amersfoort Racing) and Matteo De Palo (Saintéloc Racing).
James Wharton – Prema Racing
“This weekend is shaping up in the best possible way. Today was tougher than yesterday because the track was much faster during the first qualifying session. In any case, this great result came as a bit of a surprise, and it bodes well for the race. Now there are another 25 points up for grabs, and we still have two more races after Spain. We’re focused and aiming to replicate yesterday’s result.”
Alessandro Giusti – ART Grand Prix
“Today went well, especially compared to yesterday, when qualifying was harder, and we finished fifth in the group and eighth in the race. We made the right adjustments to the car, allowing us to get closer to pole position. So now we’ll be starting from the front row, and we’re aiming to do well in the race.”
This afternoon’s race is scheduled for 16:20, with a duration of 30 minutes plus one lap, and will be broadcast live on the official YouTube channel of the championship.
