The Formula Regional European Championship by Alpine resumed action at the Red Bull Ring in Spielberg bei Knittelfeld with collective testing ahead of the seventh round of the season. The Austrian circuit welcomed 28 drivers back behind the wheel of the Tatuus, marking their first laps since the summer break.
The extended session ran from 3:00 PM to 6:00 PM, providing a key opportunity to prepare for the weekend ahead. With only a handful of rounds remaining, the fight at the top of the standings is as close as ever, and two highly competitive races await the field.
At the end of testing, the benchmark lap was set by Enzo Deligny, R-ace GP, with a best time of 1:26.446. The Frenchman was among the busiest on track, completing one of the highest lap counts. Just 0.024 seconds behind came the current championship leader Freddie Slater, Prema Racing, followed by Pedro Clerot, Van Amersfoort Racing, in third at 0.103 seconds.
Fourth place went to Jin Nakamura, R-ace GP, who ended the session 0.184 off the pace while completing the most laps overall with 64. In fifth was Nikita Bedrin, Sainteloc Racing, at 0.225, ahead of Rashid Al Dhaheri, Prema Racing, in sixth at 0.328. Evan Giltaire, ART Grand Prix, followed in seventh with a gap of 0.419 seconds.
Matteo De Palo, Trident, closed in eighth at 0.426, while the top ten was rounded out by Jack Beeton, Prema Racing, at 0.557, and Giovanni Maschio, RPM, at 0.565 seconds.
The seventh of the ten championship rounds begins tomorrow, Friday 5 September, with two further collective test sessions scheduled from 9:05 AM to 9:55 AM and from 1:25 PM to 2:15 PM. The weekend gets underway in earnest on Saturday 6 September with Qualifying 1 at 9:00 AM, followed by Race 1 (30 minutes + 1 lap) at 12:55 PM. On Sunday 7 September, Qualifying 2 takes place at 9:35 AM before Race 2 (30 minutes + 1 lap) at 3:05 PM.
