James Wharton emerged as one of the main protagonists during the fourth round of the Formula Regional Middle East Championship. The setbacks witnessed in Dubai during the last round are now just distant memories as on his return to Yas Marina, James Wharton takes to the skies like a hawk, challenging again for the top positions where he belongs.
Ever since qualifying, his Mumbai Falcons Racing car proved to be competitive, with the team doing an amazing job of finding the right set-up for the conditions.
In Race 1, James was aggressive at the start and maintained his position throughout the race, finishing in P5 and demonstrating an impressive race pace. In Race 2, the Australian driver crossed the line in P4 and, despite three Safety Car interventions, consistently managed restarts, emerging as the only driver to challenge the progression of former teammate Tuukka Taponen. The greatest success came in Race 3, when James Wharton secured his first podium of the season, maintaining his second position for the entire race duration while keeping his rivals at bay.
«We made a big step forward, now we just need to keep this going. It's good to finally get the first podium of the year and put a whole weekend together. This was our goal from the beginning: making sure we had a positive weekend from start to finish and showing our speed, which is what we did. I’m delighted, but I still have a job to do next week to try and get something special».
It was a highly positive weekend for James Wharton, who garnered a total of 40 points, positioning him in sixth place in the drivers' championship with 88 points. The Formula Regional Middle East Championship will return to Dubai from February 16th to 18th for the fifth and final round of the championship.