Australian driver James Wharton finally took his long-awaited FRECA maiden victory, becoming a Formula Regional race winner in the second race of the Mugello weekend.
It was a long but worthwhile wait for James Wharton. In his FRECA rookie season, the Prema driver had yet to claim a race win despite two pole positions to his name. Everything changed last Sunday when Wharton took an early lead from P2 and comfortably managed the race to cross the line first.
Following the two collective tests, Saturday’s qualifying session saw Wharton struggling to find a decent gap for his flying laps. Traffic was mainly to blame for an unimpressive 11th position on the starting grid. A second setback came on the run to Turn 1 in Race 1, where James was forced to give up two positions. However, a frantic recovery, led by six on-track overtakes, resulted in a commendable P7. Despite being satisfied with his comeback, Wharton was confident he had the pace to win at Mugello.
Sunday morning’s Q2 provided a new chance to showcase his full potential. Delivering an outstanding qualifying lap, Wharton narrowly missed out on pole position by just 0.090 seconds, securing a P2 start. With high hopes, James lined up on the grid for Race 2. A perfect launch off the line handed him the race lead already before the braking zone to Turn 1. From then on, a mature race management saw him maintain a steady gap to P2 Brando Badoer, crossing the chequered flag as the undisputed leader.
«I think Saturday probably didn’t show what we really had this weekend, but I feel like Sunday we finally maximised the potential we’ve had all season so far. I hope this gives us a big boost, extra motivation, and a big push for the rest of the season. Massive thank you to all the Prema people. The weekend hadn’t start as we wanted, but their hard work put us in the position to win», said Wharton.
This remarkable performance marks Wharton’s first career victory in the Formula Regional European Championship by Alpine. As he heads into the next race at Paul Ricard, scheduled for the 19th to 21st July, Wharton is fuelled with motivation, looking to carry this momentum into the second half of the season. After bringing home 31 points from the Mugello round, Wharton now sits 4th in the Championship standings with 81 points.