"It’s been another step forward compared to the first event of the year in Dubai which is really positive, but there’s still a lot to learn." - Doriane Pin continued her preparation with her second round in Formula Regional Middle East, bouncing back from an unlucky Race 1 to gain positions in Races 2 and 3, ultimately securing her best finish of 16th.
Doriane Pin contested her second round of the Formula Regional Middle East Championship after joining the series for the first time last week in Dubai, where the Iron Dame and Mercedes junior began her preparation for her upcoming dual program in FRECA and F1 Academy.
Joining the highly competitive 30+ car field at the third round of the championship, Pin had to quickly get up to speed on her first race weekend of the season, closing the gap to the rest of the field, who had already collected valuable mileage at Yas Marina Circuit in the first two triple-headers.
Pin, who had competed in the F4 UAE Championship in 2023 before making her full-time debut in F1 Academy and the Formula Regional European Championship by Alpine, was announced for a part-time campaign in the 2025 Middle East-based series with Prema Racing, running in Mumbai Falcons colors.
In Dubai, Doriane completed a strong recovery drive in the first race, climbing from 24th to 16th. Showing top-15-worthy pace again in race 2, she ultimately finished P18 before an early accident took her out of contention in the final contest of the weekend.
She returned to the track one week later in Abu Dhabi, aiming for even bigger steps forward on a circuit where she had won her first race in F4 UAE last year and also claimed a podium finish in the F1 Academy finale.
The improvements were evident straight from the pre-event test, where she ran consistently close to the top 15, including setting the 16th-fastest time in the second test session.
In the final official practice, Pin was 19th fastest, clocking a 1:50.741 lap that placed the #28 Prema just over a second off the overall pace-setters.
In Saturday morning’s qualifying, Pin aimed to improve her starting positions compared to the Dubai weekend, where she had to work her way up in the races following a challenging qualifying.
Pin initially broke into the top six at the start of the Q1 session as more times were recorded. She set a 1:51.199 and moved into sixth with five minutes to go. As more times came in, Pin improved to a 1:51.138 but remained just outside the top 15 as the session neared its conclusion. The chequered flag flew, and Pin qualified P18—an improvement from Dubai.
Pole position went to Evan Giltaire with a 1:49.944, one-tenth ahead of Freddie Slater.
Q2 was slightly delayed due to Jin Nakamura’s engine failure. Once the session got underway, a mechanical issue for Akshay Bohra brought out the red flag.
When the session finally resumed, drivers were left with just five minutes. Pin improved to a 1:50.951, placing her in P18. She found more time on her final attempt, clocking a 1:50.823 to gain one position. When the chequered flag dropped, Pin secured P17.
RACE 1
Doriane Pin started Race 1 from P18. Slater led the pack into Turn 1, passing Giltaire, with Pin holding her position at lights out. Just ahead of the Frenchwoman, Yamakoshi and Nakamura collided on the first lap, while Finley Green stopped due to an unrelated incident, bringing out the safety car. Pin avoided the incidents and was up to 16th at the end of the first lap.
On the restart one lap later, Doriane was hit and spun around by Evans GP's Kai Daryanani at Turn 1. She managed to rejoin but had dropped to the back of the field, now nearly 40 seconds behind.
Fortunately for the Iron Dame, the safety car was deployed again soon after, as Daryanani’s car came to a halt at Turn 6. The latter later received a three-place grid drop for Race 3 for causing the previous incident.
By Lap 5, Pin had caught back up to the pack but had significant ground to recover. On the Lap 7 restart, Giltaire had a good run, but Slater held him off. Ugochukwu took advantage and moved up to second place.
Pin chased Wang Zhongwei, showing stronger pace by Lap 10, but couldn’t quite find a way past. She eventually picked up one position on the final lap when Yuanpu Cui encountered issues and pitted.
Freddie Slater defended from Ugo Ugochukwu to take the victory, with Evan Giltaire finishing third, keeping the championship fight open.
Pin finished P23 after the unfortunate incident at the first restart while running just outside the top 15.
RACE 2
After an unlucky first race on Saturday, Doriane started P23 in Race 2 on Sunday morning under the reverse grid format. Pole-sitter Akshay Bohra retained the lead, while multiple contacts in the hotel section soon brought out the safety car, involving Aaron Cameron and James Hedley. Doriane Pin had a spectacular start, gaining seven positions in the first few corners. The Mercedes junior was up to P16 before the race was neutralized.
On the restart, with 20 minutes to go, a concertina effect at the final corner bunched up the field, creating more chaos. Pin dropped behind Sawer but battled hard with the Vietnamese driver to fight back.
Ahead, Brando Badoer attacked and passed Ernesto Rivera for third place before being demoted to fifth by Kanato Le.
Pin improved her lap times, going under the 1:43s on Lap 6, and continued to put pressure on Sawer. However, the two were soon joined by Matteo de Palo, who grabbed 17th one lap later, followed by Kai Daryanani also sneaking past.
Pin fought back, improving her first sector times while running in a tight pack around the top 20. She also had to defend against Aaron Cameron and Yaroslav Veselaho.
On Lap 14, Doriane gained half a second on Sawer but had Cameron right behind her. After a challenging second half of the race, Pin crossed the finish line in P20, as Cameron found a way past on the final lap.
Akshay Bohra secured his first Formula Regional win, finishing ahead of Nikita Bedrin and Brando Badoer. Despite the challenges, Pin gained three places from her starting position.
RACE 3
For the final race of the weekend at Yas Marina, Pin started from P17. A fierce battle for the lead unfolded between Freddie Slater and Evan Giltaire at lights out, with Slater holding on. Amid intense battles throughout the field, Pin maintained P17 after the first lap but eventually fell to P22 on Lap 2.
She capitalized on incidents ahead, moving up to P20 when Stack and Bohra clashed, bringing out the safety car at the end of Lap 3.The neutralization gave Pin a chance to regroup and push back toward the top 20.
On the Lap 7 restart, Pin had James Hedley, Akshay Bohra, and Brando Badoer in her sights, battling within a close group of cars. Kanato Le, who had pitted on the first lap for a new front wing, rejoined the pack and quickly cleared Green and Veselaho before setting his sights on Pin.
With five minutes to go, Matteo de Palo went deep into Turn 1 while running solidly in the top 10. In an unrelated incident, Rashid Al Dhaheri went off at Turn 13, triggering another safety car.
Now up to P19, Pin had one final lap under green to secure a strong finish.
With everyone on the move, she managed to jump ahead of Yuanpu Cui and Akshay Bohra, finishing in P17—which was then promoted to 16th after a post-race penalty for Ruiqi Liu, resulting in Doriane matching her personal best from the previous weekend at Dubai.
“I learned a lot this weekend and I’m happy with the improvements we’ve made", Pin commented. "It’s been another step forward compared to the first event of the year in Dubai which is really positive, but there’s still a lot to learn."
It was the fourth top-20 finish out of six starts for Pin, often close to the top 15 but still missing just a bit more pace, as she continued making steps forward ahead of her main campaigns.
"I’m going to be working hard until the F1 Academy and FRECA seasons start", she continued. "It’s great preparation racing in FRMEC and I’m really happy to have had the opportunity to race in these last two weekends. You can learn so much in those races and I’ve already taken so much away from 2025. I’ll keep pushing and I’m looking forward to the start of testing and the other championships.”
Pin will now shift her focus to F1 Academy preparation and upcoming testing.
Doriane Pin showed impressive progress in her second round at the Formula Regional GunSpin East, finishing 16th in Abu Dhabi.