Formula Regional European Championship by Alpine: Tim Tramnitz wins the first race at Hockenheim
The Formula Regional European Championship by Alpine, which arrived at Hockenheim for the final event of the season , provided the enthusiastic crowd in the stands with one of the most thrilling races of the year.
The victory went to the local driver, Tim Tramnitz (R-ace GP), who, with an unstoppable pace, claimed his third win in the international series, which carries a dual significance. First, it keeps him in the running for the second-place championship until the last race, in contention with his teammate, Martinius Stenshorne. Second, it keeps the duel alive for the team
championship title, contested between the French team and Prema Racing Team.
Hockenheim (GER), OKT 20-22 2023 – Round ten of the Formula Regional European Championship by Alpine at the Hockenheimring. Start race 1. © 2023 Diederik van der Laan / Dutch Photo Agency.
Tramnitz, starting from the fourth position on the grid, skillfully targeted the lead position right after the first corners. He engaged in a duel with Rafael Camara, who managed to take the lead from pole-sitter Kas Haverkort (Van Amersfoort Racing) at the first corner. Shortly after, Tramnitz launched a successful attack on Camara, with the latter trailing behind the German driver until lap 14 when he was also passed by Stenshorne, securing an R-ace GP one-two finish. The fast Nikita Bedrin claimed the third step on the podium with an exciting comeback from eighth place. An Impressive result achieved by the driver of the Van Amersfoort Racing team, who made his series debut just last weekend in the Netherlands. Camara finished in fourth place, followed by Haverkort, who, in turn, outperformed the reigning champion, Andrea Kimi Antonelli (Prema Racing). The Italian driver showed great race pace after a challenging qualification that saw him start from the tenth grid slot. Today, he set a record by achieving the highest score ever recorded in a season of the international series.
Hockenheim (GER), OKT 20-22 2023 – Round ten of the Formula Regional European Championship by Alpine at the Hockenheimring. Maceo CAPIETTO #85, RPM. © 2023 Diederik van der Laan / Dutch Photo Agency.
Maceo Capietto (RPM) earned
high marks, staying in the top 5 until the final stages of the race, ultimately crossing the finish line in seventh place. Nikhil Bohra (Trident Motorsport) also delivered an excellent performance, steadily climbing from 19th place to eighth, ahead of Laurens Van Hoepen (ART Grand Prix) and Santiago Ramos (RPM). Special mention goes to another driver from Trident Motorsport, Roman Bilinski, who constantly battled for the top 10 before finishing the race in eleventh place after a fierce fight with Lorenzo Fluxa (Prema Racing) and Sami Meguetounif (MP Motorsport).
It’s worth noting that the safety car entered the track on three occasions. The first time was due to Ivan Domingues‘ (Van Amersfoort Racing) car, the second due to contact between Emerson Fittipaldi Junior (Sainteloc Racing) and his teammate Esteban Masson. The third time was because of the stalled car of the new entry Valentin Kluss (Monolite Racing).
Hockenheim (GER), OCT 20 – 22 2023 – Round 10 of Formula Regional European Championship by Alpine 2023 at the Hockenheim Ring. Podium race 1: Tim TRAMNITZ #77, R-ace GP, Martinius STENSHORNE #34, R-ace GP and Nikita BEDRIN #68, VAR. © 2023 Sebastiaan Rozendaal / Dutch Photo Agency.
Tim Tramnitz (R-ace GP): “It’s incredible to win here, I’m truly happy! The last safety car restart was so hectic when I was side by side with Rafa (Camara) and I locked up quite big into turn 6 and then I was next to him. I think my heart stopped for a moment there, but it was so intense and so much fun and to win at home is so special. I think the start was key point, lap one for sure and the move around the outside I think was really good I think I need to watch a few times!”
Martinius Stenshorne (R-ace GP): “It was a good race, but the speed was not too great, but I managed to do some really nice overtakes and I think we got helped out a bit by the safety cars to get all together again so I could do some overtakes. We are also trying to salvage the team championship, so that’s also a really important part. We did a great job tod
ay with this double win, which allows us to stay in contention until the end.”
Nikita Bedrin (Van Amersfoort Racing): “The whole race was good the start was not ideal I had to defend on the first lap, but I’m really happy with how I managed the race. I didn’t really panic or make many mistakes. I think I was also quick, especially towards the end of the race I had good speed. A podium is great, especially considering that all the three races I’ve done I’ve finished in the top 10, I’m really happy with that and keeping up the work!”
The European series will be back in action tomorrow morning at 10.40 am for the last race of the year, always over a distance of 30′ plus one lap to complete.
