Emanuele Olivieri completed Monza’s ACI Racing Weekend with victory in Race 3 as Sebastian Wheldon moved to the top of the provisional FIA Formula Regional European Championship standings at the completion of the first half of the inaugural season.
Driving for R-ace GP, the 17-year-old Italian pole-sitter led from start to finish in ambient temperatures of 35 degrees centigrade to become FIA FREC’s seventh different winner.
American Wheldon took second for MP Motorsport while Japan’s Yuki Sano (R-ace GP) snatched the final podium spot from Rodin Motorsport’s Brazilian driver Gabriel Gomez on the run to the Parabolica on the last lap, despite completing the penultimate tour in sixth position.
Race 1 winner Kean Nakamura-Berta, who joined Olivieri on the front row of the grid, was battling for lead when contact between the pair at the first Lesmo on lap four caused Prema Racing driver Nakamura-Berta to crash out and trigger the second of four interventions by the Toyota GR Yaris Safety Car. The collision was noted by the race stewards but no action was considered necessary.
“The feeling is really good, winning at home is something I will keep with me for many, many years,” said Olivieri, the top Rookie category runner who finished runner-up to Nakamura-Berta in Race 1. “After a really difficult start to the championship this is a really good way to get some more points.
“It was a really tough race, it was really hot out there and it was really hard to create a gap and be in a comfort zone. I don’t really know what happened to Kean, I felt the contact from behind, but I hope he’s okay.
“Honestly, I’m really happy with the race. Being P1 on the race start at Monza is the most difficult result you can have. You really need to nail it because if you do a mistake people behind will get your tow. I managed to get some metres to not get attacked into T1. The race execution was quite good.”
Formula 4 graduate Olivieri is being mentored by his godfather, Dindo Capello (above right), the three-time winner of the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Capello, a keen visitor to the Monza paddock over the weekend, won the famous Gran Premio della Lotteria at Monza on 26 June 1988.
“He just told me to try to be calm, he told me I have the pace, be confident and don’t do any silly mistakes,” Olivier said of Capello’s advice.
Gomez had been on course to finish second but a collision with Trident Motorsport’s Maksimilian Popov exiting the Variante del Rettifilo on the last lap sent his car briefly airborne. The loss of momentum then allowed seventh-place starter Wheldon to close up and pass before the Variante della Roggia. Although Gomez was able to rebuff a challenge by team-mate Alex Ninovic at the Ascari Chicane, he couldn’t hold off the rapid Sano, settling instead for fourth place.
Australian Ninovic recovered from running through the gravel on the inside of Ascari to finish fifth with Jan Przyrowski sixth for RPM. However, contact between the two drivers resulted in a five-second penalty being handed to Ninovic, who dropped to 19th as a result. Przyrowski was promoted to fifth.
Jules Roussel (CL Motorsport), Popov and Prema Racing’s Salim Hanna were next up with Race 2 winner Rashid Al Dhaheri (R-ace GP) ninth after contact with Alexander Abkhazava (MP Motorsport) led to the latter’s retirement.
Al Dhaheri, a member of the Mercedes-AMG F1 Junior Programme, had started 26th after a troubled Qualifying 2 on Sunday morning but excelled as he charged through the field. Saqer Almaosherji claimed the final point for G4 Racing in 10th.
Once again, highly competitive nature of FIA FREC, the value of the push-to-pass Race Mode system and the design of the second-generation Formula Regional Tatuus T 326 – developed by the Italian constructor in partnership with the FIA to encourage closer racing – were all highlighted.
The Hungaroring hosts round five of the inaugural eight-event FIA FREC season from 3-5 July with Wheldon holding a provisional lead of seven points over Nakamura-Berta. Al Dhaheri is next up, nine points back.
