Evan Giltaire (ART Grand Prix) sealed his second career win in the Formula Regional European Championship by Alpine by triumphing in Race 2 at Misano, following his second-place finish in Race 1. The French driver now leads the championship standings after a commanding performance on Sunday afternoon.
Behind him, Freddie Slater (Prema Racing) managed to hold second place from start to finish, bouncing back from the setback in the opening race. Matteo De Palo (Trident Motorsport) confirmed his strong pace with another solid performance, finishing third and positioning himself just behind Giltaire in the overall standings. Enzo Deligny (R-ace GP) was consistently fourth throughout the race, adding more valuable points to his weekend tally.
The race saw its first safety car deployment after Giovanni Maschio (RPM) went off track at Turn 16, coming to a stop against the wall at the end of the main straight. When the race resumed, the battle for the top five heated up with Rashid Al Dhaheri (Prema Racing) climbing to fifth place by overtaking Pedro Clerot (Van Amersfoort Racing), who settled for sixth.
Nikita Bedrin (Saintéloc Racing) impressed once again, climbing from tenth to seventh in the early stages and eventually overtaking both Al Dhaheri and Clerot to secure fifth place. However, the race was neutralized again when Dion Gowda (Van Amersfoort Racing), while battling in the top group, lost control at Turn 10 and collected both Al Dhaheri and Akshay Bohra (R-ace GP). The contact forced Gowda to retire and cost positions to the others involved.
Following the second restart, Bedrin continued his charge, moving up to fifth after a decisive move on Clerot. A third safety car period was triggered in the final stages due to contact between Valerio Rinicella (CL Motorsport) and Tim Gerhards (Sainteloc Racing), with both drivers forced to retire. The incident cost Gerhards a three-place grid penalty for the next race, a sanction also applied earlier to Gowda following his earlier clash. On the final lap, Deligny challenged De Palo for the podium but couldn't complete the move, while Jack Beeton (Prema Racing) crossed the line seventh just behind Bedrin, who had been overtaken in the closing stages by Clerot, securing a solid fifth-place finish.
Rounding out the top ten were Nandhavud Bhirombhakdi (Trident), Hiyu Yamakoshi (Van Amersfoort Racing), and Jin Nakamura (R-ace GP). The Rookie Trophy went to Edouard Borgna (G4 Racing), who completed a clean race to claim top honours among first-year drivers.
The Formula Regional European Championship by Alpine will return in two weeks for the second round of the season at the iconic Spa-Francorchamps circuit, scheduled for the weekend of May 16–18.
Evan Giltaire (ART Grand Prix)
“First of all, we had a great pace this morning and managed to bounce back well after yesterday. Honestly, the speed was incredible, and I can’t thank the team enough for all the hard work they’ve put in. In the race, I got off to a strong start and focused on managing the tyres throughout. The Safety Cars didn’t play in our favour, but I stayed sharp during the restarts and in the end, we brought home the win. I’m really happy. We’ve collected a lot of valuable points for both the Drivers’ and Teams’ Championships. I’m already looking forward to the next round at Spa, but for now, this result is very encouraging.”
Freddie Slater (Prema Racing)
“Overall, it was a strong performance – we’ve shown pace all weekend. Race 1 didn’t go our way, but that’s racing. I secured another P1 in my group this morning, which meant a front-row start. I got off the line well and slotted into second, trying to keep the pressure up, but the multiple Safety Cars made it tough to make a difference with tyre degradation. Most importantly, I hope everyone involved in the incidents is okay. The interruptions definitely impacted our momentum. I’m here to win, and while the pace was clear at Misano, Spa is a different challenge altogether. We’ll focus on learning, improving, and coming back stronger. Looking back at the weekend, we had a strong pace that didn’t fully translate into results. The qualifying sessions were solid, but with just two races on the schedule, there’s not much room for error. Race 1 was unfortunate, but Race 2 was a good step forward. We’ll keep pushing as we head to Spa.”
Matteo De Palo (Trident)
"Overall, it’s been a really solid weekend. We kicked things off by topping the times in qualifying and then sealed Race 1 with a win. Today, starting from the second row and bringing home a third-place finish wraps it up nicely, so I’m really pleased with the outcome. Looking ahead to Spa, I’m feeling confident. The strong results here in Misano give us momentum, and our performance in pre-season testing at Spa was also encouraging. I think we’re in a good place to keep building from here. I’m very confident, we’ve scored a strong haul of points this weekend, and I truly believe we can be contenders for the title this year."
Eduoard Borgna (G4 Racing):
“The race wasn’t easy, especially with the Safety Car restart, but in the end I’m happy to have taken the Rookie Trophy. We knew Misano would be a tough one, being my debut in the Championship, and sometimes you need a bit of luck on your side, so I’m really pleased with the outcome. Heading to Spa, I feel confident. Misano was always going to be a challenge, but the gap to the other drivers wasn’t big, so I know I need to be at my best. Spa is an iconic circuit and I’m really looking forward to racing there. I’ll be giving it everything to keep progressing."