Rafael Camara lived up to expectations by claiming his fifth win of the season in the Formula Regional European Championship by Alpine, which arrived at Paul Ricard this weekend for the sixth event of the year. The Prema Racing driver, starting from pole position (his fourth of the year), led the race from start to finish. Behind him, Michael Belov delivered a notable performance. The Trident team driver, after a perfect qualifying session that allowed him to start from the front row alongside the Brazilian ace, managed to stay close to the Prema driver with a fast and consistent pace, earning his fourth podium at this circuit driving a FRECA car.
Brando Badoer continues his full-throttle journey in the series organized by ACI Sport and Alpine Racing, marked by his sixth consecutive podium. The Van Amersfoort Racing driver, after starting from third on the grid, tried to challenge the leading duo in the early stages of the race but to no avail. Nonetheless, the Italian driver’s speed and determination allowed him to finish on the third step of the podium, confirming a consistency in results that rewards him in the championship standings, where he holds third place, 71 points behind the leader. Also in the spotlight during the first race was his teammate Ivan Domingues. The Portuguese driver, who also won the rookie trophy, started from fifth position and showed a good race pace, allowing him to battle with the front runners, including another of Camara’s title contenders: Tuukka Taponen. The Finn, after a tight duel for fourth place with Domingues, crossed the finish line in fifth. This result still earned him important points to stay in Camara’s wake, 44 points behind.
James Wharton (Prema Racing) also conducted a perfect race, maintaining his starting position from sixth on the grid to the end, finishing ahead of Williams Academy’s Alessandro Giusti in seventh. A commendable mention goes to Evan Giltaire, who, driving an ART Grand Prix car, made a remarkable comeback from twelfth to eighth, just behind his fellow countryman Giusti. Another great battle unfolded for the top 10 between Ugo Ugochukwu (Prema Racing) and Nicola Lacorte (Trident), with the former prevailing over the Alpine Academy driver at the finish. Only after the race, a penalty was handed to the American driver for a contact during a hectic phase of the race with Enzo Peugeot, costing him five seconds and consequently demoting him to tenth position, with Lacorte taking ninth.
Rafael Camara – Prema Racing:
“I think we did a really good job starting from yesterday. Starting from pole made things easier, I managed to keep the right pace and do what I needed to stay ahead. The car was perfect and the team did a great job, and we proudly take home important points.”
Michael Belov – Trident
“I am satisfied with this first race even though our pace was not enough to reach first place. We had a good improvement that materialized race after race, where we further focused on managing the push to pass. Here at Paul Ricard, we put together a good qualifying and a good race, which brought us points and the right morale to face the rest of the weekend.”
Brando Badoer – Van Amersfoort Racing
“I am quite satisfied. The pace was good from the tests, in qualifying, and in the race. It was a solid day that saw us score important points for the championship, so I can be pleased with this result.”
The Formula Regional European Championship by Alpine will fire up the engines again tomorrow morning at 10:10 AM for the second qualifying session, which will determine the starting grid for the final race of the French weekend. As usual, the official session will be broadcast live on the championship’s official YouTube channel.
