An exciting Race 1 marked the sixth round of the 2025 Formula Regional European Championship by Alpine at Imola this weekend. On the track that just three months ago hosted the Formula 1 Made in Italy and Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix, Enzo Deligny claimed his second win of the season at the wheel of a R-ace GP car. The victory allowed the Frenchman to reclaim third place in the overall standings, now trailing only current championship leader Freddie Slater (Prema Racing) and Matteo De Palo (Trident Motorsport).
Slater, who started from the front row, was overtaken in the early stages by Pedro Clerot (Van Amersfoort Racing), who slotted in behind the race leader Deligny. This dropped the British driver to third, ahead of Akshay Bohra (R-ace GP) and De Palo in fifth.
The race was soon interrupted by a collision at Piratella between Evan Giltaire (ART Grand Prix) and Hiyu Yamakoshi (Van Amersfoort Racing). Yamakoshi was left stranded against the barriers, fortunately uninjured, but later received a four-place grid penalty for the next race. Soon after, another incident occurred at the exit of Acque Minerali between Jack Beeton (Prema Racing) and Zachary David (CL Motorsport). David was left stationary on the track while Beeton was handed the same penalty as Yamakoshi.
These two incidents brought out the safety car, followed by a red flag. Once the race resumed, Deligny managed the restart well to retain the lead, but Slater quickly went on the offensive. With a textbook move into Tamburello, the Prema driver overtook Clerot for second place. Soon after, Bohra also passed the Brazilian to secure a double podium for R-ace GP. In the closing stages, a collision between rookie Ean Eyckmans (RPM) and Rashid Al Dhaheri (Prema Racing) forced the latter to retire, prompting a second neutralization of the race.
At the restart with two laps to go, the podium positions remained unchanged. Clerot and De Palo completed the top five in fourth and fifth, respectively, with De Palo now 28 points behind Slater in the standings. Taito Kato (ART Grand Prix) made a strong climb from eighth on the grid to finish sixth, ahead of Nikita Bedrin (Saintéloc Racing) and Dion Gowda (Van Amersfoort Racing), who was once again the top rookie.
Ninth and tenth across the line were Eyckmans and Kanato Le (ART Grand Prix). However, Eyckmans later received a five-second penalty for the earlier contact with Al Dhaheri, which promoted Michael Belov (CL Motorsport) into the top ten. Also noteworthy was the late retirement of Jin Nakamura (R-ace GP), who had held sixth position for most of the race and also clocked the fastest lap.
The international series returns to action tomorrow morning at 9:50 AM for the second qualifying session of the weekend.
Enzo Deligny - R-ace GP
“I’m really happy to take the win—it's been a strong weekend from the start. We knew we’d have good pace coming into Imola, and it’s a track I really enjoy driving, so naturally I’m pleased. This morning’s qualifying was really close, but I managed to deliver a solid lap to take pole. In the race, it was just a matter of managing the start and staying focused through the safety car restarts to bring it home.
As a team, we’ve worked incredibly hard since winter testing. We’ve put a lot of effort into understanding the new Pirelli compound and adapting our setups accordingly. I think everyone did a fantastic job today. If it rains tomorrow, I actually think that’s fun—anything can happen. But at least in the dry we’ve shown we’re fast, so we’ll be ready either way.”
Freddie Slater - Prema Racing
“The mistake I made at the race start cost me quite a bit, but I kept my head down and tried to recover. In the end we had strong pace through the final sector, which helped us overtake Pedro [Clerot] down the straight into Tamburello. That move stuck and overall, it was a positive race. I think we have good pace in the car, so let’s see how it goes tomorrow. Hopefully we can top our group again in qualifying and this time start from pole.
It’s super tricky around here—there’s so much gravel and no margin for error. When you make a mistake, it’s not minor. You’re constantly balancing on the edge at 100%, and that makes it a great challenge and fun for the drivers.”
Akshay Bohra - R-ace GP
“First of all, a huge thank you to the team. We’ve had a strong package all weekend and it showed in both practice and qualifying. I’m pleased to be on the podium, though honestly I feel we could’ve achieved more. The fact that we’re disappointed with third shows the high expectations we have—it means there’s still more to come.
At the beginning of the season, especially in Misano, I wasn’t at my best. But from Spa onwards, my qualifying performances have been strong, even if the race there wasn’t perfect. I know I’m fast, and I want to keep proving that. Imola and Spa are two of my favourite tracks. They’re absolutely top tier. Red Bull Ring is great too, and I’m especially looking forward to Hockenheim since I’ve never raced there before. The goal tomorrow is simple: nail the qualifying lap and then push in the race, straightforward but effective.”
Dion Gowda - Van Amersfoort Racing
“It was a pretty messy race with quite a few incidents, but I’m happy to finish P8 overall and first among the rookies. It’s a solid improvement from Paul Ricard. The pace is definitely there, and now we’ll focus on qualifying tomorrow. Whether it’s dry or wet, I’m aiming for another strong result.
The red flag reset all the tyre temperatures, and that makes the restart tricky. You have to work under the safety car to build everything back up, and the first laps after that can be challenging, but I think we handled it well. Imola is one of my favourite tracks, I’ve enjoyed it since Formula 4, and I think most drivers would say the same. It’s always a challenge, and tomorrow could bring mixed conditions, which just adds to the excitement.”