What a thrilling weekend it was for Prema Racing and Aventum sponsored driver Ollie Bearman, at the Circuit de Barcelona Catalunya. With an impressive display of skill, Ollie secured Pole, finished a strong Sprint Race and cruised to a spectacular victory in Sunday’s Feature Race.
Qualifying
In a weekend that Prema Racing seemed to dominate from the outset, Ollie and teammate Frederik Vesti were fastest from Free Practice on Friday. In a nail-biting qualifying session, Ollie clinched pole position for the Feature Race by a mere 0.077 seconds, denying Fittipaldi the top spot. Despite the pressure, Ollie pushed the car to the limits in his stellar lap. He said, “You have to give it everything. It was a decent lap. They are never perfect.”
Sprint Race
While teammate Frederik Vesti secured first place in Saturday’s Sprint Race, Ollie held his ground in the reversed starting grid, finishing in P7. Battling challenging weather conditions and limited visibility thanks to a Catalonian summer shower, Ollie demonstrated his familiarity with the Spanish Circuit. His ability to navigate the treacherous track meant he was able to maintain his position throughout the race, even after Juan Manuel Correa ploughed into the gravel on Lap 20, causing a Safety Car for three laps.
Feature Race
The Feature Race was the highlight of the weekend, with Ollie securing his third victory of the season. Fighting Fittipaldi for most of the weekend, Sunday morning was no different as right from the start Ollie defended his lead. As the Brazilian driver ran wide in his pursuit of Ollie, Bearman managed to break DRS by Lap 6 to secure a consistent lead.
Through strategic pit stops and calculated tyre management, Ollie skillfully built up his lead, pitting later than his rivals, stopping for the hard compound tires on Lap 13. Rejoining the track in P12, it was time to nurse the tires home for the rest of the race as every car ahead was yet to pit. With Fittipaldi closing in, Ollie maintained tyre temperature, using the upcoming traffic to his advantage, putting several of the cars yet to stop between himself and his nearest rival. By Lap 25, Ollie was back at the front, creating a 4.4s lead on Fittipaldi by Lap 30.
While Ollie secured another podium at the Circuit de Barcelona Catalunya, Aventum is proud to announce a further £2,000 donation to MNDA, of which Ollie is an ambassador. The recent victory takes the total pledged this season to £6,000.
Ollie remains fourth in the Driver’s Championship with 70 points. Teammate Frederik Vesti is leading the championship with 110 points. The dominant weekend for Prema Racing means the Italian-based team are 36 points clear of the competition in the Team Championship battle.
With a few raceless weekends ahead, be sure to join us for Round Eight of the season in Austria on 30-02 July for all the action.
