FRECA: Doriane Pin battles in rainy Zandvoort, secures top 20
- RACERS
- Jun 9
- 5 min read
“We were improving over the weekend, but qualifying is key and there aren't many overtaking chances at Zandvoort.” - Doriane Pin faced a challenging FRECA round at Zandvoort, securing a top 20 as unpredictable weather and constantly changing conditions resulted in difficult races.
Doriane Pin faced a challenging weekend at Zandvoort, the third round of the 2025 Formula Regional European Championship by Alpine season, where unpredictable weather and constantly changing conditions in both qualifying sessions resulted in difficult races for the Prema Racing driver. Despite the setbacks, she made progress with her pace over the weekend and secured a top-20 finish in Race 1. In Race 2, however, bad luck prevented her from climbing further up the field.
Pin is contesting a dual campaign in 2025, competing in both FRECA and F1 Academy, where she currently sits second in the standings with two race wins and three podiums across the first three weekends. This marks only her second full year in single-seaters, following a transition from top-level endurance racing in early 2024.
The French racer competed with the Iron Dames FRECA outfit in 2024—a learning year that saw her claim a personal best of P14 at Le Castellet and four top-20 finishes, despite missing two rounds due to an injury. After finishing runner-up in the 2024 F1 Academy championship, Pin returned to both championships in 2025 with Prema Racing.
Although she missed the opening FRECA round at Misano due to a clash with F1 Academy, Pin returned to the cockpit of the #28 Tatuus T318 at Spa-Francorchamps, finishing 19th in Race 1 as she readapted to the car. The second round at Zandvoort, another physically demanding and technical track, was one she had missed last year in FRECA—but she had raced and won there in F1 Academy, claiming victory in Race 2 in 2024.
The DTM-supporting event was plagued by adverse weather, with rapidly changing conditions that made it extremely difficult to find the limits of the car. This proved particularly complex in qualifying—a critical element in FRECA due to limited overtaking opportunities in the races.
In the pre-event test, Pin was 20th fastest in FP1 with a time of 1:33.074. She matched that position in FP2, although with a notable improvement to a 1:31.934.
Saturday morning brought a damp track after overnight rain. Doriane Pin was in Group A for qualifying, which took place in tricky and ever-changing conditions. She was initially sixth fastest, but the track developed and everyone improved in the closing minutes, as tyre temperature management became key. Pin remained P8 for most of the session, ultimately ending P10 with a 1:41.799—placing her 20th on the grid for Race 1.
The first race was surprisingly dry after earlier rain. A hectic start saw many drivers battling for position into Turn 1, where Pin was squeezed between two cars, but everyone made it through safely—until a collision between Kulkarni and Borgna brought out the Safety Car. Pin had moved up to P19 before the race was neutralized.
Up front, Freddie Slater took the lead from Pedro Clerot after a close fight at Turn 1. The race resumed with 20 minutes left: Pin held position with Nikita Bedrin just behind. The Saintéloc Racing driver soon made progress, overtaking Bhirombhakdi, Pin, and Gerhards on lap 6. However, Bedrin encountered technical issues and came to a stop one lap later, triggering another Safety Car and allowing Pin to reclaim P19.
The final 7 and a half minutes of racing were lively: Slater led from the front while several drivers ran off at Turn 1. Pin tried to capitalize but was boxed in and dropped to P22. Undeterred, she stayed close to Saqer Al Maosherji, improved her lap times to the 1:33.6 range, and overtook Giovanni Maschio—who had hit trouble and crashed into the barriers—before passing Al Maosherji on the final lap to secure P20.
It was a difficult first race, but one in which Pin still made progress and moved forward.
Rain returned on Sunday morning, soaking the Dutch coastal circuit again. Doriane Pin was in Group B for qualifying. After a very wet session for Group A, conditions briefly improved for Group B and some drivers gambled on slick tyres—only for heavy rain to return. Pin clocked a 2:01.922 early on in extremely unpredictable conditions. She then improved to a 1:45.516 and ran P7 with four minutes to go. As the track developed, she continued to improve—posting a 1:43.427 and eventually securing P10 in the group in the chaotic final minutes.
The track dried again for Race 2 in the early afternoon. Van Amersfoort Racing locked out the front row with Pedro Clerot ahead of Hiyu Yamakoshi; Prema’s Doriane Pin would line up 20th on the grid.
Evan Giltaire suffered an issue on the grid and had to start from the pit lane after an extra formation lap.
At lights out, Clerot retained the lead from Yamakoshi, with Slater challenging closely. Pin got involved in heavy traffic further down the field and made contact with Tim Gerhards at the exit of Turn 3 but held onto P20. Gerhards would later retire, triggering a Safety Car on lap 3.
Pin had settled into P21 by that point, despite sustaining contact to her right-rear suspension.
With 20 minutes to go, the race resumed. Unfortunately, Pin made contact at the restart as the field bunched up—damaging her front wing and forcing her to pit for repairs, which dropped her to P25.
Back out on track, Pin posted consistent laps in the 1:33s in clean air, but with a gap of over 40 seconds to the cars ahead, recovery was difficult without another interruption.
Nevertheless, she kept pushing, improving her sectors. By lap 13 she had reduced the gap to under 38 seconds and continued to make small gains.
The race ended with an MP Motorsport 1–2 finish on home soil, with a major rollover crash for Giovanni Maschio on the final lap bringing the race to a conclusion. Doriane Pin crossed the line in P24 after an unfortunate second race.
“Challenging weekend in Zandvoort, and one of the toughest in my career so far,” Pin commented. “We were improving over the weekend, but qualifying is key and there aren't many overtaking chances at Zandvoort.”
“Qualifying was not very good for us on both days, and we struggled in the races. There is a lot to learn and for sure, it's going to be better for the next round. We are going to work hard to come back more competitive and fight for something good” - Doriane concluded.
It was certainly a tough start to the FRECA campaign for Doriane Pin, but she added her second top-20 finish of the season and will aim to make further progress at the next round at the Hungaroring in Budapest on 5-6 July. First, however, her focus shifts back to F1 Academy, as she travels to Montreal, Canada for the next round this upcoming weekend—where she will aim to return to the top step of the podium.
