The Formula Regional European Championship by Alpine fired into life at Circuit Paul Ricard this morning with the opening Collective Test of the weekend, held under dry and warm conditions. It was Enzo Deligny (R-ace GP) who set the pace, clocking a best time of 1:58.862, leading a tightly packed field with 12 drivers covered by less than a second.

Just 0.094s behind was Freddie Slater (Prema Racing), who once again proved his consistency by finishing second. Thai driver Nandhavud Bhirombhakdi (Trident) continued to impress with third place, a mere 0.112s off the top.

Nikita Bedrin (Saintéloc Racing) secured fourth with a strong lap, narrowly ahead of Taito Kato (ART Grand Prix), who posted a 1:59.027. Prema’s Rashid Al Dhaheri followed closely in sixth, showing the competitiveness of the field.

Evan Giltaire (ART Grand Prix) took seventh, just ahead of Jin Nakamura (R-ace GP) and Hiyu Yamakoshi (VAR). Jack Beeton rounded out the top ten for Prema Racing, with Akshay Bohra (R-ace GP) just behind in 11th.

Championship leader Matteo De Palo (Trident) placed 12th, followed by Doriane Pin (Prema Racing) and the fastest rookie of the session, Ean Eyckmans (RPM), who continues to impress in his debut season in single-seaters.

The Belgian rookie posted a 2:00.102, putting him 14th overall and confirming his rapid adaptation to the FRECA car. Behind him, Rui-Heng Yeh (RPM), Dion Gowda (VAR), and Kanato Le (ART) completed the top 17. With lap times extremely close, the session once again highlighted the high level of competitiveness that defines the series.