Slater tops adrenaline-filled Qualifying 1

SJM Theodore Prema’s Freddie Slater topped the timesheets during yesterday’s afternoon adrenaline-filled Qualifying 1 session for the FIA FR World Cup.

Slater clocked a lap at 2:15.708 precisely on his last run, with the checkered flag ready to be waved.

At the time, R-ACE GP’s Enzo Deligny had the best time (2:16.016), achieved just seconds before Hiyu Yamakoshi hit the barriers at Lisboa Bend, which caused a red flag and stopped the session.

The crash occurred just as Slater, who previously held provisional pole position with a 2:26.132, was about to improve his time.

The red flag nullified Slater’s lap, which was already in the last sector, reaching Fishermen’s Bend, with Deligny benefiting from the “luck” factor to move ahead of the competition.

In the end, the tables turned again, and it was Slater who took the lead and secured the provisional pole position before today’s sessions.

Late in the session, Mari Boya also recorded a best lap of 2:16.029, just 0.019 seconds slower than Deligny.

Making it a four-strong leading group, Théophile Naël was also closely in touch with the top three. He was third for a long time during the session, but eventually dropped to fourth, just 0.340 seconds behind the leader.

Closing the top 5 was Matteo de Palo, a racer who was also part of the battle for the leading positions early in the session. Ultimately, he was unable to improve his fastest lap in the crucial last moments, having to settle for fifth.

De Palo finished nearly a second behind (0.943s) Slater’s best time but has demonstrated he can stay in the fight.

Earlier in the morning’s Free Practice 1, Taito Kato surprised everyone by topping the timesheets session with a 2:16.412, Slater followed (2:16.456), and Boya (2:16.583) was third.

Today, FR World Cup cars will be in action again, starting at 10:15 a.m. with Free Practice 2 and continuing with Qualifying 2 at 2:30 p.m., a session that will ultimately determine the grid for tomorrow afternoon’s (4:15 p.m.) 10-lap Qualifying Race.

Holding the title of Macau’s “Queen” of races, the FIA FR World Cup will conclude the 72nd edition of the local GP on Sunday with the final race, which will be 15 laps long and scheduled to start at 3:30 p.m.