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<\/p>\nKean Nakamura-Berta has claimed his third pole position of the inaugural FIA Formula Regional European Championship season after he topped Circuit Zandvoort Qualifying 2 this morning ahead of Race 1 winner Sebastian Wheldon.<\/p>\n
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The Prema Racing British driver\u2019s performance means he will start Race 2 at the Dutch venue this afternoon on the front row of the grid alongside American Wheldon, who drives for home team MP Motorsport. Italian Emanuele Olivieri completed Qualifying 2 as the leading Rookie contender.<\/p>\n
Wheldon headed Group B in a time of 1m30.208s as all 15 participating drivers were covered by less than one second. He was just 0.069s quicker than R-ace GP\u2019s Rashid Al Dhaheri. The Emirati\u2019s Chinese team-mate, Zhenrui Chi, was third fastest followed by ART Grand Prix\u2019s French driver Alexandre Munoz and Kazakhstan\u2019s Alexander Abkhazava (MP Motorsport).<\/p>\n
Following Wheldon\u2019s Group B session-topping effort it was left to Nakamura-Berta to shine in Group A and the reigning Italian F4 champion duly delivered with a 1m30.135s best. Dutch driver Reno Francot (CL Motorsport) climbed to second place in the closing moments, ending up just 0.044s adrift of Nakamura-Berta and ahead of Olivieri. Tomass \u0160tolcermanis (Prema Racing) was fourth as Dion Gowda completed the top five for Dutch outfit Van Amersfoort Racing.<\/p>\n
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Nakamura-Berta (pictured in action below and above left with Wheldon) said: \u201cThe pace has been really strong all weekend and the track has been great fun to drive. There\u2019s not much more to say, really. In qualifying, having clear track is so important, especially at a circuit like this where the lap is short and traffic can make a big difference. Fortunately, I was able to put together a good lap and secure a strong starting position for the race.\u201d<\/p>\n
Wheldon said: \u201cIt was a pretty solid qualifying session. I had a tricky moment at Turn 3 on my first flying lap, but fortunately I managed to keep it out of the wall. After that, I was able to put together a good lap on my penultimate run. It\u2019s a bit frustrating that I couldn\u2019t improve on my final attempt because of another mistake at Turn 3, so that\u2019s something I need to work on.\u201d<\/p>\n
Race 2 is due to begin at 16:45 local time and will be streamed live on YouTube<\/a> as well as being broadcast by 70 networks across 200 territories worldwide.<\/p>\n The second-generation Formula Regional Tatuus T 326 features the new Race Mode push to pass system, which allows drivers to trigger full engine performance for a period of time when activated by a button pressed from inside the cockpit. The amount of time depends on how many times the button is pressed but each driver has a total of 100 seconds available per race. Race Mode\u2019s introduction for the 2026 FIA FREC season is the result of extensive research and development managed by the FIA.<\/p>\n![\"\"\/](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/kean_nakamura-berta_action.jpg\")
Positioned one step above Formula 4 in the FIA Single-Seater Pyramid, FIA FREC caters exclusively for the second-generation Formula Regional Tatuus T 326<\/a>. All-new for 2026, the Pirelli-equipped car has been developed by the Italian constructor in partnership with the FIA and follows the aerodynamic philosophy deployed in Formula 1 to encourage closer racing. Its design also represents another step in terms of performance and safety.<\/p>\n