Štolcermanis ends FREC season with two retirements in Barcelona

Latvian racing driver Tomass Štolcermanis closed out his Formula Regional European Championship (FREC) season with two race retirements at the final round, despite promising form in practice and both qualifying sessions.

After a solid Friday that saw him qualify second in his group, Štolcermanis started the first race fourth and quickly moved into the lead. Losing the slipstream on the straight cost him the position, but he kept up a strong pace, fighting for second and third place. Three laps from the finish, a technical problem forced him to retire just as a podium finish looked all but secured.

Second day ends in a collision

In Sunday's qualifying, driving alone on track without the benefit of a tow from other cars, Štolcermanis set the tenth-fastest time, just a tenth of a second off pole position. Starting the second race from tenth, he gained one position with a good start, but on the second corner another driver he wasn't even racing misjudged a braking point and hit him hard on the inside, despite Štolcermanis having left space.

With two DNFs across the weekend's two races, the driver missed a chance to score points and potentially a podium. Still, Štolcermanis said the weekend demonstrated the team's progress, pace and consistency, calling it one of the season's strongest despite the results. He closed the season by thanking the Prema Racing team for a year that had difficult moments but also many valuable lessons.

In the final FREC standings, Štolcermanis finished 17th with 32 points, while the championship was won by Emanuele Olivieri (R-ace GP) with 227 points.