4

Ernesto Rivera won the penultimate Formula Regional Middle East race of the season at Losail as the title spoils went to Evan Giltaire.

Pinnacle Motorsport filled the reversed grid’s front row, with Hiyu Yamakoshi on pole alongside Rivera. Mumbai Falcons’ Rashid Al Dhaheri was next, then ART Grand Prix pair Taito Kato and Kanato Le, R-ace GP duo Enzo Deligny and Jin Nakamura, and finally Giltaire. His title rival Freddie Slater was a further four places back.

Yamakoshi held the leadd into turn one, and despite lots of drivers having offs through the opening lap there were no crashes. Al Dhaheri dived past Rivera mid-lap for second, and Le got through too as Slater slipped to 16th.

Slater even had contact on lap two, as drivers continued to fly off the track and rejoin at speed as they fought each other.

Yamakoshi had to get defensive against Al Dhaheri, and it caused a five-car train at the front.

Al Dhaheri aggressively swept across the pit straight on lap three to keep Le at bay, and a few corners later Le headed through the gravel and dropped to fifth. Further back, Nakamura had a spin.

After two failed diving moves, Mumbai Falcons’ Jack Beeton tries to go around the outside of Rivera at turn one on lap four but they touched wheels and he spun. Further around the lap, Yamakoshi left the door open and Al Dhaheri took the lead. Yamakoshi’s attempts at getting back alongside did not work.

Kato passed Deligny for sixth on lap five after six corners going side-by-side, and Al Dhaheri was 1.5 seconds up the road by lap seven.

Yamakoshi fell to fifth on that lap, and a very messy battle led to him losing out to Kato and Le too before retiring with an issue.

It became a tyre management affair in the race’s second half, and as in race one Sainteloc Racing’s Nikita Bedrin came to the fore. His charge up the order did not start early enough this time, and it was Rivera who took the lead from Al Dhaheri. It was a very hard-fought battle which ended when Al Dhaheri slid off and went through the gravel.

Al Dhaheri succumbed to Deligny, Bedrin and Giltaire before the end, with Deligny taking second after a diving move on the soon-to-be crowned champion.

Kato finished sixth, R-ace’s Ugo Ugochukwu broke Le’s defences for seventh, and Slater struggled to 11th.

Race results (16 laps)