Dino Beganovic Scores Maiden Formula 3 Victory In Melbourne

PREMA Racing’s Dino Beganovic came through from third on the grid to seal his first ever Formula 3 victory in the Melbourne Feature Race.

The Swedish driver overtook Trident’s Leonardo Fornaroli on Lap 14 and from there managed the gap well to the Italian on his way to taking the win. Fornaroli crossed the line to finish second ahead of compatriot and PREMA driver Gabriele Minì.

Fornaroli led away from pole, staying ahead of the PREMA pair of Minì and Beganovic. But there was plenty of action at the back of the pack as MP Motorsport’s Tim Tramnitz suffered a puncture after colliding with Tasanapol Inthraphuvasak.

The PHM AIX Racing driver then hit Sophia Floersch’s Van Amersfoort Racing car, and despite both being able to continue to the pitlane, they were forced to retire with damage. Safety Car intervention was then required after Rodin Motorsport’s Joseph Loake and Van Amersfoort Racing’s home favourite Tommy Smith collided and went off into the gravel at Turn 11.

As we went back to green flag conditions on Lap 6, the top three remained the same, Luke Browning and Arvid Lindblad rounded out the top five with the pair pouncing on the PHM AIX’s Nikita Bedrin to move up the order.

At the front, Fornaroli had pulled a gap of one second over his fellow Italian Minì. The Alpine Academy junior was coming under pressure from Beganovic, with the Swede having now set the fastest lap.

On Lap 11 there was more bad news for the Australian fans as Christian Mansell lost two places at Turn 11, with Jenzer Motorsport’s Charlie Wurz and Campos’ Sebastian Montoya overtaking the ART Grand Prix driver.

Beganovic, after being given the all clear to overtake Minì for second, did just that on Lap 12, making his way past at Turn 9. The PREMA driver then quickly got within DRS range of Fornaroli.

Minì’s struggles continued as by the end of Lap 13, he lost another position at Turn 9 to the Hitech Pulse-Eight of Browning. A lap later, Beganovic took the lead from Fornaroli at the same corner. Elsewhere, Campos Racing teammates Mari Boya and Sebastián Montoya quickly got past Bedrin, moving them up to fifth and sixth respectively.

Montoya then made his move past Boya at Turn 1 on Lap 16, with Wurz following the Colombian driver through to take P6 at the exit of Turn 4. Later in the lap, the Austrian took Montoya for fifth.

The top three were now covered by just a second and a half with Fornaroli well within DRS range of Beganovic as the drivers set off on Lap 18. Minì was however beginning to show strong pace and closed in on Browning for third.

The Italian bided his time before overtaking his former Hitech teammate round the outside at Turn 8, putting him back on the podium. As the drivers set off on the final lap, Beganovic was beginning to stretch his legs as his lead over Fornaroli was now a second and a half as he crossed the line to take victory.

Fornaroli finished second while Minì scored his first podium of the year in P3. Browning ended up fourth ahead of the impressive Wurz. Montoya also produced a stellar drive after lining up in P15 as he crossed the line in sixth.

He was followed by Boya with Bedrin in eighth, while Goethe recovered positions late on to finish ninth. Home favourite Mansell produced a battling performance to take the final point in P10.

Dino Beganovic, PREMA Racing

“Winning in Melbourne, it feels great to bounce back like this after Bahrain, very good points in the bag, so very happy with the race today which was about management and the fastest lap as well if I’m not wrong. So, very good feeling heading into the little break.”

THE F3 CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS

Luke Browning retains the lead of the Drivers’ Championship, moving onto 37 points but Leonardo Fornaroli joins him with the duo level on points. Gabriele Minì moves up to third with 32 to his name ahead of teammates Dino Beganovic and Arvid Lindblad on 28 and 23 points respectively.

In the Teams’ Standings, PREMA Racing take the early advantage back to Europe with the reigning Champions on 83 points. Trident are second on 60, while Hitech Pulse-Eight are third with 47 points.

UP NEXT

The drivers and their teams get a short break between Rounds 2 and 3 as they head into the Europe for in-season testing in Barcelona between April 17-19. The next portion of the calendar then begins at Imola. Catch us out on track at the next race weekend from May 17-19.