Iron Dames Marta García and Doriane Pin delivered strong recovery drives at Circuit de Catalunya-Barcelona during the penultimate round of their rookie FRECA season, with Pin gaining 12 positions to finish in the top-20 and García recovering 5 places, as they continue to make progress heading into the final round at Monza.
Iron Dames Marta García and Doriane Pin completed the ninth and penultimate round of the Formula Regional European Championship by Alpine season, overcoming a challenging weekend at Circuit de Catalunya-Barcelona with strong recovery drives in both races.
Pin gained an impressive 12 positions in the second race on Sunday, securing her fourth top-20 finish of the season, while García recovered 5 places in a solid performance.
Both Pin and García, in their rookie FRECA season, have made significant progress throughout the year, consistently improving in both qualifying and races, despite encountering some misfortunes. The fiercely competitive 30-car field often sees extremely close battles, and both drivers have made big strides.
The previous round at the Red Bull Ring was a positive one for both drivers. Mercedes junior Pin showed further improvement in qualifying and secured two top-20 finishes, her best results yet after narrowly missing out on points at Circuit Paul Ricard during her home race.
Garcia had topped her personal best at the Austrian racetrack, finishing 14th in race 2 after an outstanding charge through the field.
At Barcelona, warmer temperatures presented new challenges for car setup compared to the cooler Austrian round. However, both Pin and García showed good progress in Friday's two practice sessions, running close to the top-20 times.
Doriane Pin was placed in Group A for qualifying. Her first lap was strong, putting her second in class with the fastest second sector, just behind championship leader Rafael Camara. Pin continued to improve, at one point claiming provisional pole. Times however dropped quickly, and she improved to a 1:37.155, reclaiming P12, before ultimately dropping to P14 as she couldn’t find more time on her final run. Rafael Camara topped Group A with a 1:35.468.
Marta García was in the second qualifying group: her first timed lap placed her seventh, but she improved to a 1:37.013, which put her 12th in class ahead of the final runs. She then clocked a final lap of 1:36.819, ending the session in 13th after a positive performance, running close to the group top-10. James Wharton secured pole position with a 1:35.458, beating Prema teammate Camara.
In race 1, Marta García started from P25, with her Iron Dames teammate Doriane Pin lining up in P28. The race was also critical for the championship, as Rafael Camara was in position to potentially secure the title.
After an aborted start and two extra formation laps due to Yaroslav Veselaho’s car stopping at pit entry, the race finally got underway: García had a good start but was forced to go deep into turn 1 and rejoined the track in P25 after a chaotic opening lap.
Pin avoided trouble and moved up to P27. A safety car was deployed immediately after Pedro Clerot made contact at turn 1, damaging his front right suspension.
On the restart, Pin had a superb launch, gaining three positions and overtaking her teammate, who had a difficult restart and fell to P29. Doriane passed Edgar Pierre and reached P24 by lap 5, showing strong pace faster than several cars ahead.
Meanwhile, García was recovering from the back, setting competitive lap times around 1:39.6 and chasing rookie Jett Bowling.
Doriane kept pace with the field but couldn’t close in enough to challenge for positions. Ahead, James Wharton dominated the race, pulling over 6 seconds clear of Tuukka Taponen and Rafael Camara, who battled for second place.
García, meanwhile, was locked in a close battle with Bowling and Scionti. Despite a solid push, she finished P29, 0.048 seconds behind the American. Doriane Pin finished in P24, gaining 4 positions from her starting spot.
Sunday morning brought sunny skies and rising temperatures as cars returned for the second qualifying session. Marta García, in Group B, went seventh fastest early in the session, improving to 1:37.283, ultimately finishing P15 in class. James Wharton again topped Group B with a 1:35.897.
Doriane Pin, aiming to improve on her Saturday result, set a 1:37.454 in Group A, eventually improving to 1:37.300 and finishing P15, putting her 30th on the grid for race 2.
Race 2 was delayed due to oil on the track from an earlier support race. García started from P29, and Pin lined up just behind in P30. At the start, both Iron Dames drivers made excellent launches, navigating through a multi-car incident at turn one.
De Palo was tagged and spun across the track, collecting Taponen and Liu, triggering the safety car. García moved up to P26, while Pin surged to P24, gaining six positions.
After the restart on lap 3, Pin continued her charge, passing two more cars and moving into P22, while García battled with Scionti and held off Jett Bowling. Doriane set competitive lap times, running quicker than several cars ahead and chasing Edgar Pierre for P21. Marta held on in P26, defending from Bowling while also gaining a position on Bhirombhakdi.
As the race progressed, Pin lost a spot to Maschio, but quickly regained the position, setting her personal best lap under the 1:40 mark. She eventually caught back up to Edgar Pierre, then gained two more spots when MP Motorsport teammates Nikhil Bohra and Nikita Bedrin made contact and went off track, promoting her to P20. Marta also benefitted, moving up to P24.
James Wharton controlled the race from the front, taking a dominant back-to-back victory at Circuit de Catalunya. Alessandro Giusti and Pedro Clerot battled for second, with Giusti coming out on top. Rafael Camara finished fourth, which was enough to secure him the 2024 Formula Regional European Championship by Alpine title.
Doriane Pin’s impressive drive saw her gain 12 positions to finish in P18 after post-race penalties were applied, marking her fourth top-20 finish in the series.
Marta García held off Bowling throughout the race, finishing P24, having gained 5 positions from the start.
Despite a tricky weekend at a challenging circuit, both Marta García and Doriane Pin made notable progress, particularly in the second race, where they showed strong recovery drives. They now turn their focus to the final round of their rookie FRECA season, which will take place at Autodromo Nazionale di Monza on October 26-27, aiming to close out their season on a high note in one of the world’s most competitive junior series.
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