The fourth of ten double rounds of the Formula Regional European Championship by Alpine officially started today at the Hungaroring, where the Pre-Event Collective Tests took place. In the two sessions featuring the 32 single-seaters of the series promoted by ACI Sport and Alpine Racing, returning for the third consecutive year to the Hungarian circuit that hosts the Formula Grand Prix, it was Brando Badoer who stood out. The Van Amersfoort Racing driver, in his first outing on the Hungarian track, was the fastest, setting the best time of 1’40”104 during the afternoon session, testament to his perfect form since the previous round at Zandvoort, where he claimed his first podium of the season with a second-place finish in Race 2. Behind the Italian in the second session was his teammate Pedro Clerot, who led the way for a good part of the session. The Brazilian is also coming off a strong weekend in the Netherlands where he secured his first rookie win. Alessandro Giusti (ART Grand Prix) also performed well, improving on his morning session to secure the third-best time in the final session. The Williams Academy driver finished ahead of the current championship leader Rafael Camara (Prema Racing), who classified fourth, followed by Tuukka Taponen who rounded out the top five.
The R-ace GP driver, also a member of the Ferrari Driver Academy like Camara, led the first session this morning, continuing his positive streak from Zandvoort, where the Finnish driver achieved his first victory in the European championship. Behind Taponen was Badoer, who finished ahead of the Red Bull Academy’s Enzo Deligny (R-ace GP) and was the fastest rookie on the track. Another standout driver in this group was the class leader Evan Giltarie (ART Grand Prix), who finished the session with the fourth-best time ahead of Camara.
Brando Badoer – Van Amersfoort Racing
“I am happy with this first day at the Hungaroring. I feel like I am in a good moment after the podium at Zandvoort. It is my first time here in Hungary and this is becoming one of my favorite tracks. The circuit is very technical and requires maintaining a high rhythm. I have a good feeling with my car thanks to the good teamwork with my team and thanks to this, we managed to be the fastest today, but this is just the beginning of the weekend. We must continue to work hard if we want to stay ahead.”
The Formula Regional European Championship by Alpine will be back in action tomorrow morning at 9:32 AM for the first of the two Collective Tests of 50 minutes scheduled in the program.