It was a perfect start to the day for Van Amersfoort Racing on home soil, as Pedro Clerot delivered a standout performance to secure his first-ever pole position in the Formula Regional European Championship by Alpine. The Brazilian driver mastered the evolving track conditions at Zandvoort, where the session began on a damp surface due to earlier rainfall and gradually transitioned to slick tyres as the circuit dried.
The excitement kicked off with Group A taking to the track. Akshay Bohra (R-ace GP), Enzo Deligny (R-ace GP), and championship leader Matteo De Palo (Trident) led the charge for a front-row spot. In the closing moments, it was Bohra who posted the best time of 1:37.391, edging out his closest challengers in a tightly contested session. Hiyu Yamakoshi (Van Amersfoort Racing) also briefly topped the timesheets before settling in fourth place ahead of Prema Racing’s Rashid Al Dhaheri and Jack Beeton.
Group B, meanwhile, was interrupted by two red flags. The first came when Nikita Bedrin (Saintéloc Racing) stopped on track at Turn 10 due to a technical issue. The second halted the session in the final minutes after Giovanni Maschio (RPM) made contact with the barriers at Turn 3. Despite the disruptions, the battle for pole remained intense. In the closing moments, Clerot lit up the timing screens with a 1:33.443, narrowly edging out Prema Racing’s Freddie Slater by just 0.015 seconds. Evan Giltaire (ART Grand Prix) secured the third-fastest time in the group and will start from the third row, ahead of teammate Taito Kato and Jin Nakamura (R-ace GP).
All eyes now turn to Race 1, set to begin this afternoon at 17:45 CEST. As always, the race will be streamed live on the official Formula Regional European Championship by Alpine YouTube channel and broadcast across all partner networks, including ACI Sport TV.
Pedro Clerot
“I’m super happy—it’s my first pole in FRECA, and to do it at the team’s home track makes it even more special. We didn’t start the season the way we wanted, so this is a big boost. The conditions were tricky, but the track was improving, and then it started raining again. I just focused on doing my job and pushed everything on the last lap. We finally showed what we’re capable of, both myself and the team.”
Akshay Bohra
“I’m over the moon! It was a tough session with the changing conditions, but we made the right calls. Running slicks early on was a risk, and I had a few moments, but in the end, it paid off. The last lap was all or nothing. It feels great to fight at the front, especially in my rookie season. Now we need to keep building from here.”
Livestream Race 1 - Round 3 Zandvoort Circuit - Formula Regional European Championship by Alpine