FRECA | 2025 Round 8 | Barcelona | Race 2 | Deligny resists late charge from Clerot to claim victory - Motorsport

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The eighth round of the 2025 Formula Regional European Championship by Alpine (FRECA) produced another captivating contest at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. Enzo Deligny, driving for R-ace GP, mastered the damp conditions to secure a hard-fought victory in Race 2. Pedro Clerot pressed relentlessly but ultimately had to settle for second, while Akshay Bohra completed the podium after an intense battle. Throughout the race, changing grip levels, strategic restarts, and wheel-to-wheel fights defined a dramatic afternoon.

Deligny on pole; Bedrin demoted to back of the grid

R-ace GP’s Enzo Deligny started on pole position after mastering Group A qualifying. Alongside him on the front row, Van Amersfoort Racing’s Pedro Clerot lined up after dominating Group B. Just behind, R-ace GP’s Akshay Bohra took third, with ART Grand Prix’s Evan Giltaire in fourth. Michael Belov secured fifth for CL Motorsport, while Saturday’s race winner, Matteo De Palo, started sixth for Trident Motorsport.

On row four, Prema Racing’s Freddie Slater took seventh, while Van Amersfoort Racing’s Hiyu Yamakoshi started eighth. R-ace GP’s Jin Nakamura began ninth, with Prema Racing’s Jack Beeton in tenth. Further back, Rashid Al Dhaheri lined up eleventh, followed by ART Grand Prix’s Taito Kato in twelfth. Kanato Le took thirteenth, RPM’s Santiago Ramos started fourteenth, and Trident’s Ruiqi Liu moved up to fifteenth after Saintéloc Racing’s Nikita Bedrin was demoted to the back due to a technical violation.

The midfield featured Yuanpu Cui in sixteenth, Dion Gowda in seventeenth, and Edu Robinson in eighteenth. Behind them, RPM’s Macéo Capietto took nineteenth, G4 Racing’s Saqer Al Maosherji slotted into twentieth, and Trident’s Nandhavud Bhirombhakdi began twenty-first. The final rows placed Edouard Borgna twenty-second, Tim Gerhards twenty-third, and Giovanni Maschio twenty-fourth, with Yaroslav Veselaho twenty-fifth alongside the penalised Bedrin.

Safety Car start

Because the track remained damp from the morning’s rain, officials instructed the drivers to start behind the Safety Car. Consequently, the race clock began as soon as the lights went out, without the need for a formation lap. For several minutes, no overtaking occurred, but as the sun broke through the clouds and the surface dried, anticipation grew for action once the Safety Car returned to the pits.

Deligny holds on to the lead; Maschio retires

With just over 25 minutes on the clock, Deligny led the field across the line at the restart. He immediately built a half-second gap to Clerot, who nevertheless kept the leader under pressure. Behind the leading pair, De Palo, Slater, Yamakoshi, and Nakamura jostled for position, although their order initially remained unchanged. However, Kanato Le slid into the gravel, which dropped him behind Ramos.

Moments later, the Safety Car reappeared following an incident at Turn 11. Giovanni Maschio lost a wheel and stopped in the gravel, which forced him into early retirement. Conversely, Bedrin, starting from the very back, gained ground rapidly and climbed to twenty-second within the opening laps.

Fierce battles throughout the order

Seventeen minutes from the end, the Safety Car peeled back into the pits, leaving Deligny to control another restart. He defended firmly into the first corner and held the lead, although Clerot closed to just three tenths. Just behind, Slater attacked Belov and successfully seized fifth place, relegating the Russian to sixth, while De Palo followed closely in seventh.

Further back, Kato passed Nakamura for ninth, while Capietto slid onto the grass and dropped to twenty-third. Belov then ran wide into the gravel, but he rejoined in front of De Palo, who applied sustained pressure yet failed to overtake. At the same time, Kato advanced into eighth at the expense of Yamakoshi, and Ramos attacked Beeton, who had slipped down the order.

By the final third of the race, Deligny stretched his advantage to 1.3 seconds. Clerot, however, drove comfortably in second with a healthy gap to Bohra in third. Yet, Bohra struggled to maintain pace, and Giltaire drew closer, setting up a fight for the podium.

A tense end to the session

With eight minutes remaining, Slater joined the podium fight. He closed within four tenths of Giltaire and less than a second of Bohra. Meanwhile, Clerot reignited his pursuit of Deligny, cutting the gap to just six tenths. The Van Amersfoort driver looked faster at this stage and kept the R-ace GP car under immense pressure. In contrast, De Palo remained bottled up behind Belov, limiting his ability to recover points against Slater in the title battle.

During the final minutes, the contest intensified. Clerot chased Deligny closely, ready to exploit any error. Simultaneously, Bohra, Giltaire, and Slater fought ferociously for third place. Bohra ran wide but recovered through the escape road, retaining his position. Slater then muscled past Giltaire for fourth.

In the final lap, Clerot unleashed his push-to-pass system and attempted a last-gasp move, but Deligny defended robustly and crossed the line to secure victory. Clerot finished just behind him, while Bohra resisted immense pressure to claim third. Giltaire salvaged fourth, while Slater’s late mistake at the final corner dropped him to fifth.