Qualifying was fiercely contested until the final moments at Imola, which hosts Round 6 of the 2025 Formula Regional European Championship by Alpine season. On the banks of the Santerno River, it was Enzo Deligny who came out on top. Driving for R-ace GP, the Frenchman clocked the fastest lap with a time of 1:38.585, an important result for the driver looking to bounce back after a challenging weekend at Paul Ricard, despite showing strong pace there.
As per tradition, the official sessions for the championship, organized by ACI Sport and Alpine Racing, saw Group A take to the track first. Early pace-setters included Evan Giltaire (ART Grand Prix) and Pedro Clerot (Van Amersfoort Racing), but it wasn’t long before championship leader Freddie Slater (Prema Racing) took control, edging ahead of teammate Rashid Al Dhaheri. The British ace was the first to break the 1:39 barrier and continued improving until he sealed the session’s best lap in 1:38.646. Behind him, Clerot secured a second-row start, just ahead of Giltaire, who pulled out a decisive lap on his final attempt. Taito Kato (ART Grand Prix) also impressed, continuing his strong form from Paul Ricard, where he claimed a podium in Race 1. Nikita Bedrin (Saintéloc Racing) made his presence felt in P5, ahead of Al Dhaheri, who ended the session sixth.
Group B, which produced pole-sitter Deligny, was marked by a tense back-and-forth between the French driver and Matteo De Palo. The Trident Motorsport driver, currently locked in a tight title battle with Slater, made an early statement by topping the times. Jin Nakamura (R-ace GP) briefly inserted himself between the two contenders, but in the end, it was Deligny who clinched pole with his 1:38.585 lap. Akshay Bohra (R-ace GP) also delivered a strong performance, snatching P2 in the group from De Palo in the closing stages. The Italian had to settle for third, just ahead of the Japanese duo Nakamura and Hiyu Yamakoshi (Van Amersfoort Racing).
Enzo Deligny | R-ace GP
“That was a great lap. We were already showing strong pace in practice, but today is what really mattered and I managed to deliver when it counted. It was very close out there—Matteo De Palo was really quick too—but in the end I put together a solid lap and secured overall pole, which is really satisfying. I knew I had the potential to take pole, but it was up to me to make it happen. On that final lap I was really dancing on the limit of the car, and I’m happy I was able to deliver under pressure. If it’s dry tomorrow, getting a good start will be crucial because overtaking here is very tricky. And if it rains, then there’s always an element of unpredictability. Either way, I’m starting from the front and I enjoy racing in the wet, so I’m feeling confident.”
Freddie Slater | Prema Racing
“It’s been a really positive weekend so far. We started strong in Thursday’s Collective Test 1 and just kept building from there into Qualifying, at a track where there’s really no room for error. Those one-lap shootouts are what we all enjoy, and Imola is just such a great circuit to drive—technical and challenging. You can’t afford to run even slightly wide here, you have to push right up to the limit without stepping over it. In terms of conditions, we’re all in the same boat. We haven’t had much rain this year, so it’ll be interesting to see how things evolve. Either way, it’s going to be fun. There’s a long run down to Turn 1, so let’s see what happens there.”
The Formula Regional European Championship by Alpine returns to the track this afternoon at 16:40 CEST for the first race of the weekend, which as per series regulations, will run for 30 minutes plus 1 lap. Fans can follow the race live on the championship’s official YouTube channel and on international TV networks, including ACI Sport TV (Sky Channel 228).
