Dries Van Langendonck once again asserted his dominance in Formula Regional Europe. The MP Motorsport driver set the fastest time in the morning session on the second day of post-season testing at Paul Ricard, edging out his rivals by a narrow margin. After four days of testing, a clear picture of the likely frontrunners for the 2027 FREC season is beginning to emerge.
Van Langendonck, a McLaren junior, posted the best time just 40 minutes into the three-hour morning session. His lap included the fastest times in all three sectors, although Fernando Rivera was shown as having set a middle sector 0.7s quicker than anyone else—presumably by missing the Mistral chicane completely. Kenzo Craigie of R-ace GP came closest, just one-tenth slower at the end of the session.
In the afternoon session, which was disrupted by a red flag, Reno Francot of CL Motorsport set the benchmark of 1m58.549s early on, which stood until the chequered flag. He and his CL teammate Miguel Costa were the only drivers in the top 15 to go faster in the afternoon than in the morning. Van Langendonck, meanwhile, was slowest of all in the afternoon but had already given his potential rivals a very clear warning in the morning.
Other rookies also showed promising pace. Oleksandr Bondarev and Kenzo Craigie from R-ace GP and Alp Aksoy at Prema were consistently in the leading group. However, the newcomers are not having things all their own way, as second-year drivers Alex Ninovic at Rodin Motorsport, Reno Francot, and Toyota-backed Yuki Sano provide a strong benchmark.
A surprise came from Evan Giltaire. The Japanese Super Formula Lights champion made an unexpected return to FREC machinery, rejoining his former team, ART Grand Prix. Giltaire was quickly back into the groove, briefly going top early in the session and finishing just 0.008s down on Craigie. His presence raises questions about whether he will pair with Taito Kato at the Macau Grand Prix in November.
In the morning session, Aksoy continued his strong showing to go third ahead of Giltaire. Bondarev set the fifth-fastest time ahead of Ninovic and Trident’s Ary Bansal, with Francot rounding out the top eight. In the afternoon, Giltaire was again quick, finishing third behind Francot and Aksoy, who set his time on only his fourth lap.
A late red flag caused by Pedro Lima of Van Amersfoort Racing saw just under half the field venture out for a late push lap. Ninovic jumped up to fifth, displacing VAR’s Scott Lindblom. G4 Racing’s Oscar Repetto held onto seventh, while Alisha Palmowski improved on her final lap to move up to eighth.
With one more post-season test next week at the Red Bull Ring, MP Motorsport will hope to have its remaining drivers in action. Van Langendonck has already sent a clear message that he will be one to watch in the upcoming season.
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