Photo: FRME
With one week to go before the Formula Regional Middle East season opener at Yas Marina Circuit, there are now 11 drivers signed up.
German team PHM Racing has the biggest line-up, with four drivers signed for the full season. The most experienced of its quartet is Taylor Barnard, who was championship runner-up with the team last year before stepping up to FIA Formula 3.
“I’m super happy to be coming back to the PHM family doing FRME once again, we were vice-champions last year and the goal is to go one better,” said Barnard. “I’m looking forward to start working with the team again and have a great winter season. Many thanks to everyone involved for making this happen again.”
PHM’s FRegional team manager Giulio Falsirollo said “there are several reasons” to bring Barnard back down the single-seater ladder to race in the championship again.
“First of all, he is part of the PHM Academy, so it was an internal decision. We believe in the mutual growth and improvement that this choice will result in,” he explained. “He will be a good reference for the younger drivers and he will contribute to the enhancement of our team. On the other side, we are giving him another opportunity to prove himself and reach new goals.”
Tasanapol Inthraphuvasak is also a FRME sophomore, although he contested last season with Pinnacle VAR and only got one podium. He then went on to race in Eurocup-3, coming sixth in the standings with four podiums and two poles.
Stepping up from Formula 4 to complete PHM’s line-up is Brando Badoer and Ruiqi Liu. Badoer is an ‘optioned driver’ of the McLaren Formula 1 team and came sixth in F4 United Arab Emirates, Italian F4 and Euro 4 last year with a total of nine podiums.
Liu also competed in multiple series in 2023. He came 30th in Italian F4 with three 13th places being his best results, was fourth in the Formula Winter Series with three podiums against a small grid, and despite missing three rounds came fourth in Chinese F4 with three wins and four other podiums from eight races. He was on pole three times.
Evans GP has signed GB3 podium finisher John Bennett for the full FRME season to partner Costa Toparis, while Sainteloc Racing has announced three drivers but only for round one.
Theophile Nael and Matteo de Palo, who came first and fifth respectively in Spanish F4 last year, will race in Abu Dhabi to warm up for their FRegional European Championship campaigns with Sainteloc, while 2022 Brazilian F4 champion Pedro Clerot has signed with Van Amersfoort Racing for the 2024 FREC season but will race for Sainteloc in FRME.