Just three days after the opening round of the series in Abu Dhabi, the Yas Marina circuit played host to round two, bringing another trio of races for Taito Kato and the FRMEC grid.

Capitalising on his solid debut weekend, Kato wasted no time in building upon that momentum and grabbed a maiden podium in the opening race on Wednesday.

Starting fourth on the grid, once again his tyre management talent paid dividends as he was able to pass Carrasquedo to finish third.

Kato graduated top of his class in 2023 from Honda Racing School Suzuka and won a scholarship. In 2024, he joined Honda's driver development program, the Honda Formula Dream Project (HFDP), and made his first appearance in the French F4, winning the series title. His maiden FRMEC podium continued that impressive trajectory.

Unfortunately, the second day of racing was somewhat more challenging for Kato, as separate incidents in each race cost him a front wing and the need to pit to replace, dropping him down the order. In the first of today’s races the incident came when he was running seventh, and in the second race it was during a move into the hairpin to gain sixth place.

Pitting in each instance for a new nose and front wing, Kato regrouped to set the second fastest lap time in each of the two races, demonstrating again the podium potential he showed in the opening race.

The next round gets underway at the Dubai Autodrome on 7-9 February, which will play host to races 7, 8 and 9 of the 15-race series.

@Dutch Photo Agency