Formula Regional Asian Championship Abu Dhabi Race 2 review and results 24.01.2022: Formula Regional Asian Championship Yas Marina Circuit, Abu Dhabi Race 2 With the first five rows in the finishing order of Race 1 and then reversed, 3Y R-ace GP’s Gabriel Bortoleto started from pole, with Hitech Grand Prix Rookie Joshua Dufe

Formula Regional Asian Championship
Yas Marina Circuit, Abu Dhabi


Race 2



With the first five rows in the finishing order of Race 1 and then reversed, 3Y R-ace GP’s Gabriel Bortoleto started from pole, with Hitech Grand Prix Rookie Joshua Dufek alongside, and points-leader Sebastian Montoya the furthest back of the Mumbai Falcons Racing trio on P10.



Bortoleto wasted no time maximizing his pole advantage, a strong getaway giving him the momentum to pull clear of the field – crucial in an action-packed race which was to see a high rate of attrition. Joshua Dufek held on to second chased by Leonardo Fornaroli, while behind them Isack Hadjar was up to fourth from P7.  




An early incident between Master Cup drivers Pinnacle Motorsport’s Salih Yoluç and Abu Dhabi Racing by Prema’s Khaled Al Qubaisi saw their race end early, allowing BlackArts Racing’s Thomas Luedi to take the class win unchallenged.



Meanwhile, back at the sharp end, Hadjar found his way past Fornaroli and into podium contention, with Lorenzo Fluxá having to contend with a hard charging Arthur Leclerc, up to sixth from P8. Next Hadjar picked off Dufek to go second, while behind the pair a three-wide standoff between Dino Beganovic, Gabriele Minì and Race 1 winner Montoya ended in disaster for all but the Colombian.



The incident brought out the safety car, annihilating Bortoleto’s 1.838s advantage, and putting the hungry Hadjar right on his tail. At the restart mid-way through the 30-minute race, Bortoleto held the lead but this time had to fight to shake off Hadjar. Behind the leading duo, Dufek dropped down the order from third to seventh, putting Fluxá into podium contention, the 17-year-old getting the bit between his teeth and heading off in search of Hadjar.



However, it was not to be when the outcome of another three-way battle, this time between Evans GP’s Cem Bolukbasi, Pinnacle Motorsport’s Pepe Marti and 3Y R-ace GP’s Hadrien David, brought out the safety car for a second time with just seven minutes remaining.



As Hadjar prepared for the restart behind the safety car, a technical glitch forced him into the pits, dashing his hopes of a podium finish and promoting Fluxá to second ahead of Leclerc who, as the cars were released for one last charge to the flag, withstood a fierce last-gasp attack from team mate Montoya. Bortoleto sailed over the line to take a well-deserved lights-to-flag first championship victory, while Montoya took the Rookie win from Fornaroli and Dufek.



Formula Regional Asian Championship
Yas Marina Circuit - 5281mtr.
21 - 23 January 2022
Final result Race 2
Yas Racing Series: Round 2 - 2022



1 18 Gabriel Bortoleto 3Y Technology UAE 1 -- 15 laps -- 31:06.633 1:52.399 11 152.77
2 16 Lorenzo Fluxá 3Y Technology UAE 2 0.974 31:07.607 1:52.396 9 152.69
3 28 Arthur Leclerc Mumbai Falcons Racing Limited 3 1.833 31:08.466 1:52.866 11 152.62
4 46 Sebastian Montoya Mumbai Falcons Racing Limited R 1 2.150 31:08.783 1:52.817 10 152.59
5 5 Leonardo Fornaroli Hitech Grand Prix R 2 3.418 31:10.051 1:53.395 10 152.49
6 7 Joshua Dufek Hitech Grand Prix R 3 5.953 31:12.586 1:53.283 10 152.28
7 52 Jak Crawford Abu Dhabi Racing by Prema 4 6.333 31:12.966 1:53.497 10 152.25
8 78 Frederick Lubin Evans GP Pty Ltd R 4 6.883 31:13.516 1:53.967 5 152.21
9 11 Levente Révész Evans GP Academy R 5 7.324 31:13.957 1:53.973 4 152.17
10 99 Amna Al Qubaisi Abu Dhabi Racing by Prema 5 7.786 31:14.419 1:54.265 4 152.13
11 55 Ayato Iwasaki Pinnacle Motorsport R 6 8.178 31:14.811 1:54.442 11 152.10
12 21 Brice Morabito BlackArts Racing R 7 9.052 31:15.685 1:54.737 3 152.03
13 9 Thomas Luedi BlackArts Racing M 1 10.046 31:16.679 1:55.681 15 151.95
14 15 Oliver Goethe 3Y Technology UAE 6 14.503 31:21.136 1:53.582 5 151.59
15 3 Paul Aron Abu Dhabi Racing by Prema 7 19.023 31:25.656 1:53.545 3 151.23
16 6 Isack Hadjar Hitech Grand Prix 8 -- 13 laps -- 27:04.904 1:52.275 10 152.10
17 77 David Morales Evans GP Academy R 8 -- 12 laps -- 24:15.221 1:55.021 5 156.77


Not Classified Classigication limit (75% of 15 Laps) = 12 Laps


DNC 17 Hadrien David 3Y Technology UAE -- 11 laps -- 22:05.421 1:53.103 4 157.78
DNC 74 Cem Bolukbasi Evans GP Pty Ltd -- 10 laps -- 20:05.159 1:53.488 5 157.75
DNC 23 Pepe Marti Pinnacle Motorsport R 0.635 20:05.794 1:53.853 5 157.66
DNC 88 Hamda Al Qubaisi Abu Dhabi Racing by Prema R -- 8 laps -- 16:29.075 1:54.783 4 153.77
DNC 10 Dino Beganovic Mumbai Falcons Racing Limited -- 4 laps -- 7:41.746 1:53.992 3 164.69
DNC 4 Gabriele MinÌ Hitech Grand Prix 0.405 7:42.151 1:53.335 4 164.54
DNC 14 Nicola Marinangeli Evans GP Pty Ltd -- 1 laps -- 2:16.056 139.73
DNC 66 Khaled Al Qubaisi Abu Dhabi Racing by Prema M 8.267 2:24.323 2:22.533 1 131.72
DNC 34 Salih YoluÇ Pinnacle Motorsport M 32.495 2:48.551 112.79
DNS 27 Dilano van´t Hoff Pinnacle Motorsport R


STEWARDS DECISION NO. 73: CAR 15 - 10 SECOND PENALTY

Fastest time : 1:52.275 in lap 10 by nbr. 6 : Isack Hadjar



RSTime by TimeService.nl



-Nikki Kemp, photo FRAC