Race Report: Formula Regional Middle East Trophy - Round 4

Round 4 - 12th-13th February 2026 - Lusail International Circuit

The weekend in Qatar was anything but straightforward. We’d had a short break between Round 3 at the Dubai Autodrome, to allow time for the cars to be relocated for the final round. From the outset, it had that feeling, the kind where you know you’re going to have to earn every lap and there was no certainty. Wednesday testing was cut short by engine issues, and just like that, valuable track time disappeared. 

We came back on Thursday ready to reset. Optimistic. Focused. But the schedule was revised, the planned two-hour session trimmed to one, and then the call came through: all remaining Formula Regional running cancelled for the day. Not ideal. Around us, frustration simmered across the paddock.

Friday turned into a pressure cooker. Qualifying 1, Qualifying 2, Race 1 and Race 2 all crammed into a single day. Minimal running. Technical doubts lingering. Thirty-one cars. It wasn’t just about pace, it was about composure and adapting to whatever was thrown at us next.

Credit: © Dutch Photo Agency

Qualifying

Sadly, both qualifying sessions were interrupted with red flags - not what you want when every minute counts.

With six minutes to go in the first qualifying session, I slotted out second on track, chasing clean air and a clear lap. In a field this tight, positioning is everything. You’re not just fighting the stopwatch; you’re fighting traffic, temperature, timing.

In Q2 there was another red flag followed after Nikita Bedrin Abkhazava stopped on track. He managed to get going again, but the car eventually came to rest in a dangerous position. Another pause. Another reset.

Qualifying 1 – P27
Qualifying 2 – P22

With 31 cars on the grid, margins were razor thin. A tenth here or there can be the difference between moving forward or dropping back.

Credit: © Dutch Photo Agency

Race 1

Started P27 - Finished P24

The lights went out and finally, we were racing. I got a strong launch and immediately gained ground, up to P23 by the end of the first lap. In these tightly packed Formula Regional races, momentum is everything and I had it.

Then the Safety Car was deployed, and the field neutralised. Maxim Rehm was involved in a heavy first-lap accident that sent his car airborne. I held P23 as the laps ticked by under caution while marshals recovered the car and my teammate. Thankfully, Maxim was okay. But the damage meant he couldn’t take part in the final race of the day. A tough blow for the team.

When racing resumed, there were 19 minutes left on the clock. Dion Gowda was close behind, only a few tenths separating us, while Enea Dion Frey was just ahead. It was a train of cars, nose-to-tail, every driver calculating risk versus reward.

With 11 minutes to go, Gowda found a way through for P23. Behind me, Zhenrui Chi was applying pressure. The closing laps were relentless. No room for error. No breathing space. Every braking zone felt like a balancing act, if I pushed too hard I could compromise the exit; defend too much and I would lose momentum.

In the end, P24. Three positions gained. Hard fought. Hard earned.

Credit: © Dutch Photo Agency

Race 2

Ordinarily, the grid for Race 2 is dictated by the finishing order of Race 1. But this was no ordinary weekend. With Friday compressed into a single high-intensity programme, the grid was set from Qualifying 2 instead. That meant lining up P22, with Dion Gowda ahead and my teammate Alex Ninovic tucked in behind.

Lights out and straight into battle. The opening laps were elbows-out stuff. In a 31-car field around Lusail, hesitation costs you. I made two decisive moves early on, carving my way into P20 and settling into a rhythm. The car felt good beneath me, and as the race began to stretch, opportunities started to open up. 

I pushed further forward into P17, holding the position for four laps in the thick of a tightly packed train. Every braking zone was contested, every exit crucial. But momentum in these races swings quickly. I slipped back to P18, concluding the race behind Kai Daryanani, with Dion Gowda looming large in the mirrors once more.

Final Thoughts

Weekends like this remind you exactly what motorsport is about. Variables. Adaptation. Resilience.

Fellow British driver Kean Nakamura-Berta clinched the title - a result few would have predicted at the start of the round. It was a fitting reminder that in racing, nothing is guaranteed. You manage what you can control, and you respond to what you can’t. 

For us, it was a weekend of challenges, limited running, technical setbacks, condensed sessions but also one of lessons. In a field this competitive, the margins are microscopic. And that’s exactly what makes it compelling.