Gabriel Bortoleto sets the pace on Thursday at Mugello

Mugello fog welcomed the 36 drivers of the Formula Regional European Championship by Alpine, who prepare to face the final round of the season this weekend.

In the first 4-hour pre-collective test of the weekend, Gabriel Bortoleto set the fastest lap with a  1:43.149 at the wheel of an R-ace GP car which he won Race 2 in Barcelona last Sunday. The Brazilian driver showed to have a very good pace in the first Italian session, in which he was ahead of RPM’s Pierre-Louis Chovet who was just 0.094s further back in second, and 0.039s ahead of Barcelona Race 1 winner Paul Aron (Prema Racing). Kas Haverkort (Van Amersfoort Racing) was fourth fastest (1:43.303), followed by the championship leader Dino Beganovic (1:43.335) and Trident Motorsport’s Tim Tramnitz (1:43.348)

Rookie leader Leonardo Fornaroli (Trident Motorsport) finished the session in seventh position with a lap of 1:43.393. Positions eight to ten were filled by Santiago Ramos, who will compete for the first time this year with the RPM team, Hadrien David (R-ace GP) and Esteban Masson (ART Grand Prix).

The collective tests will take place tomorrow at 9.30 and 13.10 local time.