FRECA | 2025 Round 9 | Hockenheim | Race 2 | Red flagged wet weather race sees Deligny claim the victory - Motorsport

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Race 2 will close out the penultimate round of the season as the 2025 FRECA grid takes on Hockenheim. The first Qualifying session earlier in the weekend decided today’s lineup, with Enzo Deligny earning a front-row start by topping Group A. Matteo De Palo, who set the pace in Group B, will line up alongside him.

The championship fight remains wide open, and Race 2 promises to be decisive. Freddie Slater, who claimed victory in yesterday’s Race 1 for his sixth win of the 2025 season, starts from the third row, keeping the title battle alive.

Race control delays the start of the race

Initially, rain began to fall at Hockenheim, forcing a delay to the start of Race 2, with officials declaring the track wet. Afterward, the drivers completed the initial formation lap and lined up on the grid for the restart. At that point, only a handful opted to switch to wet tyres. Among them, Giovanni Maschio, starting 19th, made the change, along with two others from the back of the field. Race Control confirmed that push-to-pass would remain disabled for the start, leaving uncertainty over whether it would be re-enabled later in the race. Over the 2nd formation lap, it was noted that there were wet and dry patches along the entire track, favouring differing strategies. The race was also reduced to 28 minutes instead of 30, as the second formation lap counted as an additional lap.

Green lights for Race 2 at Hockenheim

Deligny got away cleanly, maintaining his lead over De Palo off the line. Further back, however, Nikita Bedrin ran wide while attempting to claim the racing line and lost traction, colliding with Ruiqi Liu. The impact left the Trident car beached on top of the Saintéloc Racing machine, forcing the deployment of the Safety Car immediately. Race control later confirmed the incident would be investigated after the race.

Racing returns with 17 minutes on the clock

Giltaire immediately attacked Kato on the restart, diving down the inside almost straight away. Kato locked up, which allowed Slater to pounce and move into P4, but Kato fought back and held the position as Giltaire secured P3. The battle behind gave Deligny and De Palo the chance to break away and build a gap from the rest of the field.

Hiyu Yamakoshi clipped all four wheels over the kerb, spinning and sliding onto the grass. Luckily, his car came to a stop on the outskirts of the track, clear of traffic, and he was able to restart the Van Amersfoort Racing machine and rejoin the pack.

Belov then went wide and locked up, tumbling from P11 to P13 as Egozi and Al Dhaheri capitalised on his error.

Safety Car!

Saqer Al Maosherji ran wide at Turn 1, clipping the kerb and puncturing a tyre before sliding into the gravel. As the Safety Car took control of the field, the rain began to intensify, prompting umbrellas to appear along the start/finish straight. Wild Card entrant Yuanpu Cui was the first to pit for wet tyres, soon followed by Al Dhaheri, Beeton, and Edu Robinson. Prema Racing also made the call, double-stacking their cars in the pit lane.

RED FLAG

With the weather turning on track, and many drivers still on track on slick tyres, race control ultimately ruled the race unsafe to restart, with a Red Flag called for driver safety. Deligny secured the victory, with De Palo finishing second and Giltaire completing the podium. Those who had pitted for wet tyres were unable to capitalise in the final minutes, as the race did not resume, leaving them reverted to their original positions. Gowda, meanwhile, claimed the Rookie win.