Sainteloc’s Nikita Bedrin ends two-year wait for third FRME win

Photo: FRME

Sainteloc Racing’s Nikita Bedrin ended a two-year wait for his third Formula Regional Middle East victory in the first race at Losail.

Points leader Evan Giltaire started on pole, but the ART Grand Prix was beaten off the line on a wet track by R-ace GP’s Ugo Ugochukwu. At turn one, Mumbai Falcons’ Rashid Al Dhaheri went around the outside of Giltaire and got the move done and Giltaire found himself under pressure from title rival Freddie Slater.

The battles in the top 10 were neutralised on lap three as the safety car came was summoned due to PHM Racing’s Everett Stack crashing out. Evans GP’s Matteo De Palo also picked up race-ending damage.

Racing resumed on lap six, and Giltaire looked to the outside of Al Dhaheri at turn one but had no luck. Slater then had a got at him later in the lap, but the Mumbai Falcons driver rode over the back of Giltaire’s car and it sent him off.

Remarkably both seemingly escaped without damage, with Kanato Le passing his team-mate Giltaire as Slater dropped to 12th once he rejoined the track.

Le was attacking Al Dhaheri on lap seven, and on the next lap Al Dhaheri defended sternly at turn one. It helped Ugochukwu break 2.4 seconds clear the front, and that gap grew to 3.1s once Giltaire got involved too.

Al Dhaheri defended down the pit straight on lap nine, held off two overtake attempts from Le then got a small gap when the ART GP pair both went off.

Giltaire returned to third, and on lap 11 he swept around the outside of Al Dhaheri for second. Ugochukwu had 4.5s in hand, but that soon going to decrease.

There was a train of cars behind Le consisting of R-ace’s Enzo Deligny, ART GP’s Taito Kato, Bedrin, R-ace’s Jin Nakamura and Pinnacle Motorsport’s Ernesto Rivera.

After a four-wide battle at turn one on lap 12, Bedrin was in fourth ahead of Deligny, Nakamura and Le, and just a few corners later he was ahead of Al Dhaheri who was suddenly struggling for pace. Tyre management appeared to be the issue, as Nakamura cleared Al Dhaheri too.

Bedrin then hunted down the top two, passinh Giltaire into turn one on lap 14 and flying past Ugochukwu after going side-by-side with him later in the lap. He ended up winning by 5.535s, and Ugochukwu just held off champion-elect Giltaire.

Kato and Deligny had gone either side of Al Dhaheri at turn one on lap 13 and both cleared him, with Deligny taking fifth on the outside. Slater came home 12th, scoring just one point.

Race results (15 laps)