Bondarev impresses with pole, win and double podium

Imola hosted the latest round of the 2026 Formula Regional European Championship, where VAR celebrated one of its strongest weekends of the season.

Making his debut in the series, Oleksandr Bondarev delivered an exceptional performance across all three races. After finishing 10th in Race 1, he made an immediate impact on Saturday afternoon by charging forward to secure second place in Race 2, claiming his first FREC podium. On Sunday, Bondarev completed a remarkable debut weekend by taking pole position and converting it into a dominant race victory, marking his second podium and first win in Formula Regional.

Dion Gowda showed strong consistency throughout the weekend, finishing 16th, 16th and 7th, with his Race 3 performance highlighting clear progress. Andrea Dupé completed the event with P24 and P19, after an unfortunate DNF in Race 1.

Van Amersfoort Racing now heads into the final round of the season at Hockenheim, currently sitting 7th in the Teams’ Championship with 70 points. In the Drivers’ standings, Oleksandr Bondarev holds 14th place with 37 points, Dion Gowda is 20th with 25 points, and Andrea Dupé sits 25th with 8 points.

Next weekend marks the season finale, offering one last opportunity to secure important championship points and close the year on a strong note.