The Formula Regional European Championship by Alpine roared back to life this morning for the first qualifying session at Mugello. True to the tradition of the championship organized by ACI Sport and Alpine Racing, the session was fiercely contested by the 33 drivers until the very last moment.
On the undulating Tuscan track, the fast R-ace GP driver Tuukka Taponen clinched his third consecutive pole position, confirming his excellent form from the previous round at Hungaroring. This remarkable performance makes him the third driver to achieve this feat, following in the footsteps of champion Gregoire Saucy and Franco Colapinto, both key figures in the inaugural season of the championship in 2021. With a best time of 1’42”331, Taponen dashed Brando Badoer’s hopes of starting from pole in the first race scheduled for this afternoon.
The Italian driver, who excelled in Group A, the first group to take to the track, showed great pace from the early stages, battling for the top spot on the timesheet with series leader Rafael Camara (Prema Racing), who was narrowly outpaced by Badoer by just over a tenth of a second. Behind the Ferrari Driver Academy driver, rookie Noah Strømsted (RPM) finished with the third fastest time, having briefly led the session six minutes from the end. Another standout among the Tuscan curves was KIC Motorsport’s Nandhavud Bhirombhakdi, who achieved his best qualifying result in Italy, securing the fourth time in his group and thus the fourth row, ahead of Enzo Peugeot (Sainteloc Racing), who will start tenth right behind the Thai driver.
The session for Group B, dominated by Taponen, also saw another strong performance: Pedro Clerot (Van Amersfoort Racing), the Brazilian rookie who was flying in the first part of the session, was overtaken by the Finn by just over a tenth, but still managed to secure the second row alongside Camara. Ivan Domingues also performed well, driving the third Van Amersfoort Racing car to the third fastest time ahead of Michael Belov (Trident Motorsport) and Nikita Bedrin (MP Motorsport).
Tuukka Taponen – R-ace GP
“The track conditions today were different from those we encountered on previous days, starting with the temperatures. I used the first lap to study the grip and the behavior of the car, and in the second lap, I pushed to achieve the best time.”
Brando Badoer – Van Amersfoort Racing
“We had a good qualifying session where we found the right balance. I’m happy with my performance in my group, where I think I achieved the maximum possible. The track conditions improved when the second group went out, but that’s okay because we will still start from the front row in today’s race, where we will give our best to perform well.”
The international series will be back in action this afternoon at 2:00 PM for the first race of the weekend, which will last 30 minutes plus one lap. As usual, the race will be broadcast live on the championship’s official YouTube channel.
