FRECA | 2025 Round 8 | Barcelona | Race 1 | De Palo dominates, Slater holds off Clerot for P2 - Motorsport

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Racing action for Round 8 of the 2025 Formula Regional European Championship by Alpine (FRECA) kicked off the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya with high stakes and heightened tension amid a closely contested Race 1. With the Drivers’ title battle finely poised, every point carried significant weight. Freddie Slater lined up on pole position for Prema Racing, but he faced immediate pressure from Trident’s Matteo De Palo, his closest rival in the standings. Under the clear Spanish skies, twenty-six young talents from across the globe prepared to contest a race that promised drama, wheel-to-wheel battles, and potential championship implications.

Slater on pole with rival De Palo in P2

The first race of the weekend at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya saw Freddie Slater of Prema Racing line up on pole position, with Trident’s Matteo De Palo joining him on the front row. Enzo Deligny of R-ace GP started from third, ahead of Van Amersfoort Racing’s Pedro Clerot in fourth and fellow R-ace driver Jin Nakamura in fifth. Nandhavud Bhirombhakdi (Trident) lined up sixth, while Nikita Bedrin (Saintéloc Racing) took seventh alongside Evan Giltaire (ART Grand Prix) in eighth. Rashid Al Dhaheri (Prema) and Jack Beeton (Prema) completed the top ten.

Behind them, Akshay Bohra (R-ace GP) started eleventh, followed by Taito Kato (ART Grand Prix) in twelfth and Edu Robinson (G4 Racing) in thirteenth. Santiago Ramos (RPM) slotted into fourteenth, just ahead of Michael Belov (CL Racing) in fifteenth. Dion Gowda (Van Amersfoort) started sixteenth, with Kanato Le (ART) in seventeenth and Ruiqi Liu (Trident) eighteenth. The back rows included Saqer Al Maosherji (G4) in nineteenth, Macéo Capietto (RPM) in twentieth, Yuanpu Cui (Prema) in twenty-first and Tim Gerhards (Saintéloc) in twenty-second. Giovanni Maschio (RPM) lined up twenty-third, followed by Hiyu Yamakoshi (Van Amersfoort) in twenty-fourth, Edouard Borgna (G4) in twenty-fifth and Yaroslav Veselaho (Saintéloc) at the rear of the grid in twenty-sixth.

De Palo seizes the lead

Under bright Spanish sunshine, Slater led the field away for a clean formation lap. As the lights went out, both Slater and De Palo launched strongly, holding their positions into Turn 1. However, Slater immediately lost ground and dropped behind De Palo. Nakamura seized the moment and surged into third, while Deligny’s race unravelled early with front-wing damage, pushing him down the order. Clerot slotted into fourth as the field scrambled for position, with Bhirombhakdi in fifth. Kato, Giltaire, Al Dhaheri, Beeton and Belov rounded out the early top ten.

Once the dust settled, De Palo set about building a narrow cushion at the front. Slater remained within half a second, though Clerot soon began to pressure Nakamura and eventually stole third after a spirited fight. As a result, Nakamura dropped to fourth while Bhirombhakdi remained in fifth, closely followed by Kato and Giltaire. Meanwhile, Al Dhaheri stayed within striking range in eighth, and Beeton ran a lonely ninth. Le completed the top ten. At the back, Deligny’s damaged R-ace GP machine continued circulating but steadily lost laps to the leaders.

Mid-race battles

By the halfway stage, De Palo led with a margin of just over a second, while Slater and Clerot fought over second place. Nakamura fell back but remained safe in fourth. Behind them, Bhirombhakdi resisted pressure from Kato and Giltaire, whose intra-team battle at ART Grand Prix allowed Al Dhaheri to close in. Bedrin also came alive, closing rapidly on Belov in the battle for the fringes of the top ten. Ramos and Gowda engaged in a fierce scrap for fourteenth, with Ramos showing attacking intent but unable to find a way through.

Slater salvages P2 despite later Clerot threat

With only five minutes left on the clock, the tension rose at the front. De Palo extended his advantage to 1.5 seconds and looked unchallenged. However, the battle for second intensified as Slater ran wide, allowing Clerot to mount a late attack. Despite light contact between the pair, Slater defended robustly to keep hold of second. Behind them, Bedrin and Bohra joined a chaotic midfield scrap that eventually saw Belov tumble down to fifteenth after a trip through the gravel.

Further back, Yamakoshi’s race ended in disaster when he lost his front wing, forcing retirement. Deligny, having fallen seven laps down after his earlier damage, eventually parked the car in the pits, becoming the only classified non-finisher.

As the race drew to a close, Matteo De Palo crossed the line comfortably to secure his fourth win of the season. Slater clung to second place despite heavy pressure, while Clerot completed the podium in third. Nakamura finished fourth, followed by Bhirombhakdi in fifth and Kato in sixth.