Yuki Sano converted pole position into his maiden FIA Formula Regional European Championship victory with a commanding performance in Race 1 at the Hungaroring, becoming the eighth different winner of the season. The R-ace GP driver led from lights to flag, ahead of team-mate Rashid Al Dhaheri to complete a one-two finish for the French outfit.
Second place enabled Al Dhaheri to return to the top of the Drivers’ Championship standings, with the Emirati continuing his run of consistent results.
Championship leader Sebastian Wheldon endured a difficult afternoon for MP Motorsport. Arriving at the fifth of eight rounds with the points lead, the American left Race 1 empty-handed and relinquished top spot in the standings. PREMA Racing's Kean Nakamura-Berta also experienced a challenging race, finishing 10th after a difficult start to the weekend.
Rodin Motorsport's Reza Seewooruthun completed the podium in third place, securing his first top-three finish in eight races, while R-ace GP capped off a perfect afternoon as Emanuele Olivieri finished fourth overall and claimed Rookie class honours.
RACE REPORT
Sano retained the lead at the start, while Al Dhaheri made a strong launch from the second row to climb to second ahead of Seewooruthun. Olivieri held fourth ahead of PREMA Racing’s Tomass Stolcermanis and G4 Racing’s Marcus Saeter, with Saqer Almaosherji moving up to seventh after overtaking Wheldon in the opening stages.
At the front, Sano and Al Dhaheri remained closely matched, trading fastest laps as the race progressed, while Olivieri continued to apply pressure to Seewooruthun in the battle for P3.
Further back, Van Amersfoort Racing’s Francisco Macedo, who was running 18th, was handed a five-second penalty for a false start.
On Lap 10, Wheldon spun at Turn 3 and dropped to the back of the field. Meanwhile, Saeter began to challenge Stolcermanis for fifth position, with Almaosherji joining the fight. The order, however, remained unchanged and the top five positions were confirmed at the chequered flag. Olivieri also claimed the fastest lap point after setting a 1:39.880 in the closing stages.
Almaosherji eventually secured sixth place ahead of Saeter, while Rodin Motorsport’s Alex Ninovic produced a solid drive to finish eighth. ART Grand Prix’s Kabir Anurag and Nakamura-Berta completed the top 10, with the PREMA Racing driver recovering three positions over the course of the race.
Yuki Sano (R-ace GP, Race 1 winner): "I'm super happy. It's my first win in Europe, which makes it even more special for me. I'd like to say a big thank you to the team, to everyone supporting me, and to TGR for their continued support. Tomorrow we have another qualifying session and another race, so the target is to do it all again and keep the momentum going."
Rashid Al Dhaheri (R-ace GP, 2nd): "It was quite a tricky race. The Hungaroring is always a difficult circuit when it comes to overtaking, but luckily we managed to gain a position at the start and move up to second. From there, I tried to manage the pace and stay close to Yuki to see if any opportunities would come our way. Overall, though, I think the team did an amazing job this weekend to give us a car that was capable of performing at a very high level. Now the focus shifts to tomorrow, with another qualifying session and another race ahead, and we'll try to do our best once again. Of course, this podium is important for the championship because of the points we scored, but for me it is also a reward for all the hard work that has gone into achieving this result, both from myself and from the team".
Reza Seewooruthun (Rodin Motorsport, 3rd): "I'm very happy with the result and with the points we scored today. It's been a tough start to the season, so it's nice to be able to show the hard work that has been going on behind the scenes. The team has done an amazing job this weekend and the car has been in a really good window throughout. Now the focus is on doing it all again tomorrow, putting together another strong qualifying session and carrying on from where we left off today."
Emanuele Olivieri (R-ace GP, Rookie winner): "It was a really tough race. Overtaking opportunities are very limited here at the Hungaroring, so despite having strong pace it was difficult to make progress. Overall, though, the pace was very good and the team can be really proud of today's result with a one-two-four finish. At the start I thought I might have a chance to challenge for third place, but once the race settled down it became very difficult to get close enough to make a move. In the final laps I focused on creating a gap behind and pushing for the fastest lap, which gave us an extra point for the championship. As we've seen, every point can make a difference over the course of the season. Overall, I'm very happy with the performance."
Action resumes tomorrow at 08:30 CEST with Qualifying 2, ahead of the final race of the weekend, which is scheduled to get underway at 15:55. Live coverage will be available in more than 200 territories worldwide, including on ACI Sport TV, and via the championship's official YouTube channel, @fiaformularegionaleu.
Full broadcast details are available here.
