Maiden win for Ed Pearson and Nielsen Racing in a closely-fought Race 1

26.04.2025

The first race of the 2025 Euroformula Open, which opened the era of the Dallara 324 and the Tom’s engine, kept its promises: Race 1 at Portimão was spectacular, closely-fought and not exent of drama. Ed Pearson emerged as the winner in the closing laps after a sensational charge from the back. The young Brit conquered his maiden success in the series and gave Nielsen Racing the best possible debut in the series.

“It was a tough race, which didn’t start well for me, but I knew I had the pace and little by little I could recover. It was unfortunate that Michael Shin spun in the closing laps, but I think I could have catch him anyway. It’s a good start of the season and of Nielsen Racing’s journey in Euroformula, they did a massive work, and I am sure we will be fighting for more successes”, said Pearson.

The weekend had started under the sign of Tymek Kucharczyk. The young Pole of BVM Racing, who tested for the first time the car one week prior to the event, dominated free practice and took pole position, but at the start, he stalled, and so did his teammate Vlad Ryabov and Finn Green (Nielsen). This provoked some confusion in the group, with Yevan David (Motopark) taking the lead at first corner and Pearson, third on the grid after some ignition issues, having to lift off in the middle of the fight at the top which involved also Motopark’s Michael Shin, Joss Garfias and Diego de la Torre.

On the contrary, the race was short for Shawn Rashid and Paolo Brajnik, who retired in the pits in lap 3. By then, Shin was in the lead ahead of Garfias, D        avid, de la Torre and Pearson, but Garfias and de la Torre soon had to concede positions, namely to Pearson , who by lap 6, was third behind Shin and David. At the back, Kucharczyk and Ryabov were trying to recover the ground lost at the start.

By lap 13, Shin, David and Pearson were still at the top and within 5 seconds. The Brit managed to pass David and started to threaten Shin, who could not avoid making a mistake and leaving the way clear to the Nielsen driver. Fernando Barrichello took fourth after passing Everett Stack. They were followed by the two Mexican drivers, Garfias and de la Torre, and the BVM duo, with Kucharczyk eigth and Ryabov ninth, while Finn Green netted the last point.