Photo: F4 UAE
PHM Racing’s Nikita Bedrin was the fastest driver in Formula 4 United Arab Emirates’ pre-season test for the Yas Marina Circuit season finale, as the Prema drivers continued to shine.
Abu Dhabi Racing by Prema’s Aiden Neate topped the first session, going 0.061 seconds faster than Charlie Wurz (Prema), 0.188s faster than Rafael Camara (Prema) and a larger 0.356s faster than James Wharton (Abu Dhabi Racing by Prema).
Bedrin was best of the rest in fifth place, but he came to the fore in session two on Thursday as he headed Camara by 0.084s and beat Neate’s moning benchmark.
On Friday there was then a warm-up session in place of free practice, and this time the battling Prema pair Wurz and Camara were pipped to top spot by Martinius Stenshorne (3Y Technology by R-ace GP).
The two days of action included two new drivers who will be racing this weekend, with Spanish F4 racer Max Arkhangelskiy being added to R-ace’s line-up while Kyle Kumaran debuts with the Mumbai Falcons by Xcel Motorsport team.
Test results
| Pos | Driver | Team | Time | Gap | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nikita Bedrin | PHM Racing | 1m55.295s | 52 | |
| 2 | Rafael Camara | Prema | 1m55.379s | +0.084s | 54 |
| 3 | Aiden Neate | Abu Dhabi Racing by Prema | 1m55.390s | +0.095s | 54 |
| 4 | Charlie Wurz | Prema | 1m55.451s | +0.156s | 54 |
| 5 | Martinius Stenshorne | 3Y by R-ace GP | 1m55.728s | +0.433s | 50 |
| 6 | James Wharton | Abu Dhabi Racing by Prema | 1m55.746s | +0.451s | 55 |
| 7 | Jamie Day | Xcel Motorsport | 1m55.849s | +0.554s | 55 |
| 8 | Tasanapol Inthraphuvasak | MP Motorsport | 1m55.938s | +0.643s | 39 |
| 9 | Vladislav Ryabov | GRS | 1m55.983s | +0.688s | 45 |
| 10 | Ivan Domingues | Xcel Motorsport | 1m55.988s | +0.693s | 50 |
Warm-up results
| Pos | Driver | Team | Time | Gap | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Stenshorne | 3Y by R-ace GP | 1m55.076s | 10 | |
| 2 | Wurz | Prema | 1m55.099s | +0.023s | 9 |
| 3 | Camara | Prema | 1m55.124s | +0.048s | 9 |
| 4 | Alex Dunne | Hitech GP | 1m55.219s | +0.143s | 9 |
| 5 | Domingues | Xcel Motorsport | 1m55.464s | +0.388s | 8 |
| 6 | Bedrin | PHM Racing | 1m55.478s | +0.402s | 10 |
| 7 | Ryabov | GRS | 1m55.562s | +0.486s | 10 |
| 8 | Day | Xcel Motorsport | 1m55.627s | +0.551s | 9 |
| 9 | Neate | Abu Dhabi Racing by Prema | 1m55.647s | +0.571s | 9 |
| 10 | Taylor Barnard | PHM Racing | 1m55.746s | +0.670s | 9 |