It was a race that will remain etched in the memory of Sainteloc Racing, as they celebrated their first victory in the Formula Regional European Championship by Alpine in Austria, thanks to Théophile Naël’s triumph. The French driver, stepping onto the international series podium for the first time, delivered a flawless race, taking the lead after the first few corners with a great start.
The on-track action quickly followed, with series leader Rafael Camara (Prema Racing) grabbing the spotlight shortly after the start. In his attempt to take third place from Badoer, he lost his front wing in a collision with Zachary David (R-ace GP) at Turn 3. This tense moment was further complicated by contact between Valerio Rinicella (MP Motorsport) and Alessandro Giusti (ART Grand Prix), with Giusti forced to retire while battling for the top positions. Shortly after, Rinicella was involved in another multiple-car incident with Tuukka Taponen (R-ace GP) and Nandhavud Bhirombhakdi (KIC Motorsport), which resulted in all three drivers retiring and brought out the safety car.
After the safety car period, Naël skillfully held onto the lead, followed closely by pole-sitter Noah Strømsted (RPM), who had been passed by the Frenchman at the start. Behind the leading duo, Badoer managed to stay in third, ahead of David and Matteo De Palo (Sainteloc Racing), the latter climbing from 13th on the grid. Attention then shifted to another remarkable comeback from Race 1 winner James Wharton (Prema Racing), who fought his way up from 16th to finish fifth. De Palo also stayed in the spotlight, securing fourth place behind Badoer in a thrilling finish, with the top five drivers crossing the line within close proximity.
Sixth place was claimed by rookie Pedro Clerot (Van Amersfoort Racing), who also delivered a strong performance in today’s race, finishing ahead of Nikita Bedrin (MP Motorsport) and Camara. After pitting to replace his front wing, Camara managed to finish inside the top 10, but was handed a 5-second penalty after the race for a maneuver while entering the pit lane that involved Enzo Deligny (R-ace GP), who couldn’t avoid the Brazilian, damaging the front of his own car. As a result, eighth place went to Roman Bilinski (Trident), followed by David and Ivan Domingues (Van Amersfoort Racing). A second safety car was deployed late in the race after Deligny’s car came to a stop at Turn 1 due to a technical issue.
Théophile Naël – Sainteloc Racing
“I am really happy and grateful for this result, which came thanks to the great work done by the team. I had a good start, and after starting from third, I managed to take the lead after the first few corners. Now we need to keep up this level of performance for the final part of the season.”
Noah Strømsted – RPM
“My start wasn’t one of the best, and I lost the lead. In any case, both the race pace and the car were really good. We were close in the second sector, but it’s not easy to overtake on this track.”
Brando Badoer – Van Amersfoort Racing
“It was an important race where we managed to get back on the podium and score valuable points in the final part of the year. Today’s race was quite competitive, and we had good pace, but a bit of bad luck prevented us from reaching the target we had set. However, I’m still satisfied with third place.”
The series organized by ACI Sport and Alpine Racing will be back on track in Spain at the Circuit de Barcelona on the 28th and 29th of September.