The seventh round of the 2025 Formula Regional European Championship by Alpine (FRECA) burst into life this morning with the first qualifying session of the Spielberg weekend. Drivers were divided into two groups and faced a cold track at 15°C, with the air temperature recorded at 10.8°C. Trident’s Matteo De Palo set the fastest overall time, a 1:25.709 in Group B, earning pole position. He now holds a prime opportunity to close the gap in the championship fight. Alongside him on the front row sits Akshay Bohra of R-ace GP, who topped Group A.
Group A: Bohra prevails despite challenge from Deligny
Group A took to the track first under tricky grip conditions following overnight rain. Early pace came from Tim Gerhards of Saintéloc Racing, but the battle for the top spot quickly became a three-way contest between Akshay Bohra, Hiyu Yamakoshi of Van Amersfoort Racing, and Enzo Deligny with R-ace GP. The trio exchanged provisional pole multiple times in a tense session that went down to the final lap.
Bohra ultimately prevailed with a 1:25.981, edging teammate Deligny by 0.051 seconds. Yamakoshi followed just 0.059 seconds further back. Ean Eyckmans and Reno Francot, both representing RPM, secured fourth and fifth. Sixth went to Taito Kato of ART Grand Prix, ahead of Michael Belov of CL Motorsport. Dion Gowda placed eighth for Van Amersfoort Racing, finishing just in front of championship leader Freddie Slater with Prema Racing. Giovanni Maschio rounded out the top ten for RPM.
Speaking after session, Bohra reflected on his performance: “Qualifying went well. Grip levels were quite low, so I just tried to adapt as best as I could. The team gave me a strong package. You need to drive right on the limit here. With the long straights there will be a lot of action in the race, so anything can happen. Lap after lap, grip kept improving after last night’s rain. On the final lap I was braking really late into the first three corners, focusing on strong exits to carry as much speed as possible, always right at the edge of rear grip. In the last sector I put it all together in some pretty difficult corners, committing a lot, and crossed the line. For Race 1 the plan is simple: drive as fast as I can and take every chance to overtake.”
Group B: De Palo fends off Clerot to take pole
In Group B, Pedro Clerot of Van Amersfoort Racing led early but faced a fierce challenge from Matteo De Palo. The decisive moment arrived when De Palo produced his pole-winning 1:25.709. Clerot attempted one last push, going purple in the first sector, but fell short by a mere 0.010 seconds.
Nikita Bedrin of Saintéloc Racing impressed with third place, only 0.081 seconds off pole. Rashid Al Dhaheri claimed fourth for Prema Racing, while Edu Robinson secured fifth with G4 Racing. Evan Giltaire of ART Grand Prix followed in sixth, ahead of Trident’s Ruiqi Liu and Nandhavud Bhirombhakdi. The top ten concluded with Enea Frey for CL Motorsport and Prema Racing’s wildcard Alex Powell.
Track limits at Turns 9 and 10 proved costly, with several drivers, including Clerot and Yamakoshi, losing laps to deletions but managing to recover.
De Palo expressed his satisfaction after securing pole: “After not the best day yesterday in collective tests, today we managed to put everything together and take pole position. Now we need to finish the job in Race 1, to close the gap with the championship leader and maybe even take the lead back. I think it was a really strong lap, especially because I did it without a tow, which here is very important. Our pitlane position didn’t really help to get a slipstream, so we decided to go alone and in the end it paid off. The second group usually has a small grip advantage, but also in the first group the pace was quick. Today we have a big opportunity, and we will try to make the most of it.”
Outlook for Race 1
With Bohra and De Palo sharing the front row, the opening race of the weekend promises intense action. The close margins across both groups highlight the competitiveness of the field, and with long straights offering slipstreaming opportunities, the race is expected to deliver overtakes and drama from start to finish.
