SJM Theodore PREMA Racing masters treacherous Guia Circuit in Qualifying 1

SJM Theodore PREMA Racing secured three top-10 provisional qualifying positions today as the 71st edition of the Macau Grand Prix went underway at the famous Guia Circuit.

Conditions appeared challenging since the early morning, with threatening skies and intermittent rainfalls paired with a gutsy wind that swept the world’s most demanding street course making it even more unpredictable.

After a damp Free Practice 1 session, precipitations stopped and a dry line started to emerge ahead of Qualifying 1. However, rain soon began to pour again, which induced several driving mistakes and the subsequent red-flag situations.

The team’s three drivers, Dino Beganovic, Alex Dunne, and Freddie Slater, took care of their cars early in the running and soon started to push with extremely promising sector times. Unfortunately, they struggled to complete a push lap due to the circumstances. Despite showing high potential, they could only manage one true flying lap before rain picked up in intensity.

Like other competitors, the SJM Theodore PREMA Racing drivers came back and sat in the pits during the closing stages as there was no chance to deliver quicker laps than they had on the board.

Slater wrapped up the session in P5, mastering his first career Formula Regional qualifying. The 16-year-old Briton was the team’s frontrunner. On the other hand, Alex Dunne took in P7, two spots in front of Dino Beganovic, as both the Irishman and the Swede were prevented from making further gains.

Cars and drivers will go back on-track tomorrow for Practice 2 and Qualifying 2. The fastest lap of the combined sessions will set the starting grid for Saturday’s Qualifying Race.

#30 – Dino Beganovic
“It has been a wet day here in Macau. The start of the first qualifying session was looking quite dry, but we got caught out with red flags when the track was the dryest also because we are far down the pitlane. It’s a bit of a handicap, but we have to do our best to make up for it. Generally, the pace was strong. The sector times we were doing were really good and even in the wet we were fast despite being caught in traffic. It was a bittersweet day, highlighted by strong pace. We need to be a bit more lucky with the weather tomorrow and manage the positioning on track, and we will be able to show our potential.”

#31 – Freddie Slater
“Qualifying was tricky due to all the red flags, but we got the lap in after the first one with a solid run. That put us at the front, and that was the main thing. Now we look forward to going again tomorrow!”

#32 – Alex Dunne
“Not a bad day. My pace was good in FP1 despite a small mistake that made me touch the wall. Still, we learned a lot as a team. Qualifying turned out to be quite messy, we completed only one real push lap in 40 minutes. We ended up in P7 in the end. Once again, the pace was not bad even though I didn’t quite put the lap together. We are in a decent position and with consistent conditions tomorrow, we should be good.”