The Formula Regional European Championship by Alpine resumed action this morning with the second qualifying session at Misano, where the 26 drivers on the grid, part of the series promoted and organised by ACI Sport and Alpine Racing, delivered a thrilling display right to the final moments. Evan Giltaire (ART Grand Prix) secured his maiden pole position in the championship, confirming his strong early-season form following yesterday’s second-place finish in Race 1. The Frenchman posted the fastest lap of the weekend with a 1:28.206, snatching pole from Freddie Slater (Prema Racing), who had topped the timesheets in Group B.
Slater, the reigning Italian F4 Champion, is aiming for redemption this afternoon following the early incident in Race 1 that ended his race despite starting from pole. Right behind the Prema driver was Enzo Deligny (R-ace GP), who secured a spot on the second row with a late push. Another strong performance came from Rashid Al Dhaheri (Prema Racing), consistently among the session’s frontrunners and ultimately claiming third place. Completing the Group B top five were Jin Nakamura (R-ace GP) and Nandhavud Bhirombhakdi (Trident Motorsport), the latter impressing with a strong final lap, clocking in less than four tenths off the lead. Just behind him, Prema’s Jack Beeton took sixth place.
In Group A, Giltaire was forced to fend off a strong challenge from Matteo De Palo. The Trident driver and Race 1 winner had led for much of the session before being edged out in the final minutes. The Roman driver will line up on the second row of the grid. Also showing strong pace was Brazil’s Pedro Clerot, the fastest of the Van Amersfoort Racing drivers, while teammate Dion Gowda clocked the fourth fastest time ahead of Akshay Bohra (R-ace GP), who rounded out the top five at the chequered flag.
The Formula Regional European Championship by Alpine returns to the track this afternoon for the final race of the weekend, with lights out scheduled for 17:35 local time.
The race will be streamed live on the official YouTube channel of the championship and broadcast by several partner networks, including ACI Sport TV.
Evan Giltaire (ART Grand Prix)
“After a tough day yesterday, we put in a lot of work together as a team. I’m really pleased with the performance today, the whole team and the mechanics did a fantastic job improving the car overnight. Now we stay focused, the weekend isn’t over yet and the goal is to win and bring home important points for the championship.cWe’re pushing forward as a team, working hard to keep improving the car. I’m lucky to share the garage with two great teammates, and our collaboration with the engineers and mechanics is going really well. I’m happy to be part of this environment.”
Freddie Slater (Prema Racing)
“Not a bad session, it was a solid qualifying, especially considering we were the first group on a very green track, which always makes it tricky to set the overall best time. Still, we’re feeling really positive, the car has felt good and the pace is there, so that’s the main takeaway. We went for it early in the session knowing there’s always a risk of red flags. I managed to post a good lap straight away and slightly improved at the end, but by then the rest of the field had started to benefit from lighter fuel loads. Maybe I used a bit too much at the beginning and didn’t fully maximise the final laps, but overall, I’m pleased with our performance. Now the focus is on getting through the start cleanly and making the most of the full race distance. The headwind into Turn 1 makes the tow really powerful, so the start could be key.”
