Aron Heads Beganovic as Prema Racing on Top in Opening Collective Test Session at Monza

Paul Aron led the way in the opening collective test session of the 2022 Formula Regional European Championship by Alpine season at the Autodromo Nazionale Monza on Friday.

Thirty-six cars hit the Italian circuit on Friday morning as preparation for the opening round of the season began in earnest, and it was Prema Racing and Mercedes-Benz protégé Aron who headed the field with a best time of 1:46.726.

In a session that was delayed initially by the weather, times tumbled throughout, and Aron and team-mate Dino Beganovic ended at the top, ahead of another returning driver in MP Motorsport’s Michael Belov.

Pietro Delli Guanti, racing for the new Race Performance Motorsports (R-P-M) team in 2022, was an encouraging fourth fastest ahead of the leading rookie in the field, Prema’s Sebastián Montoya.

Another rookie, Van Amersfoort Racing’s Joshua Dufek, placed sixth ahead of a pair of Arden Motorsport drivers, Edoardo Barrichello and Noel León, while Van Amersfoort Racing’s Kas Haverkort and Arden’s Joshua Dürksen completed the top ten.

Tim Tramnitz and Leonardo Fornaroli ended just outside the top ten in Trident’s first official session in FRECA, with Nicolás Baptiste the leading FA Racing driver thirteenth ahead of KIC Motorsport’s Santiago Ramos and ART Grand Prix’s Gabriele Mini.

There were two additional late entries to the field for the weekend, with R-P-M fielding team boss and former Formula Ford racer Keith Donegan in their second car, while R-ace GP fielded a fourth car for Léna Bühler, who returns to the team after racing for them last year.

There was one withdrawal as Belén García pulled out of racing with the G4 Racing team, with the Spaniard seemingly turning her focus back to her full-time ride in W Series having been scheduled to race this weekend.

Autodromo Nazionale Monza Collective Test 1 Times