Saucy and Hadjar Lead the Way in Opening Day of FRECA’s Test at Paul Ricard

The final pre-season test for the Formula Regional European Championship by Alpine drivers got underway on Tuesday at the Circuit Paul Ricard in France.

Two drivers, ART Grand Prix’s Grégoire Saucy and R-ace GP’s Isack Hadjar, led the way, setting identical lap times at the top of the timing screens, both completing the lap in 1:57.917.

Saucy was the first driver to set the time and as a result will end the day in first position, while Hadjar, a rookie in the category after stepping up from Formula 4, matched his time in the dying moments of the days running.

Arden’s Alex Quinn, a race winner in Formula Renault Eurocup in 2020, was only 0.055 seconds back in third, while another race winner from last year, Franco Colapinto, was just a tenth back from the best time of the day in fourth for MP Motorsport.

Andrea Rosso, another rookie in the championship, was an excellent fifth for FA Racing, just ahead of ART Grand Prix’s Thomas Ten Brinke, while Arden’s William Alatalo was four tenths back in seventh ahead of MP Motorsport’s Kas Haverkort.

R-ace GP drivers completed the top ten, with Barbadian driver Zane Maloney finishing just 0.024 seconds ahead of Frenchman Hadrien David, with the top ten separated by 0.550 seconds at the end of the day.

ART Grand Prix’s Gabriele Mini missed out on the top ten by just 0.018 seconds, while Prema Powerteam were noticeably absent from the top ten, with David Vidales their best placed driver in twelfth, just ahead of team-mate Paul Aron. 

Oliver Gøthe of MP Motorsport was just over nine-tenths of a second off the pace in fourteenth, with the Dane finishing just ahead of Swedish racer Dino Beganovic of Prema Powerteam.  Sixteenth-placed Eduardo Barrichello of JD Motorsport was the final driver to be within a second of the time set by Saucy and Hadjar at the front of the field.

FA Racing’s Alexandre Bardinon, Monolite Racing’s Pierre Delli Guanti, Van Amersfoort Racing’s Francesco Pizzi and KIC Motorsport’s Patrik Pasma completed the top ten.

Only thirty-one drivers took to the track, with FA Racing’s Mari Boya and Monolite Racing’s Jasin Ferati both absent from the timing screens, while Léna Bühler again missed out on track time as she recovers from her broken hand.  Her R-ace GP car was tested by W Series race winner Beitske Visser.