2026 Formula Regional Middle East Trophy

2026 Formula Regional Middle East Trophy

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Support series:
UAE4 Series

The 2026 Formula Regional Middle East Trophy is a multi-event Formula Regional open-wheel single seater motor racing championship. The championship features a mix of professional and amateur drivers, competing in Formula Regional cars. Known since 2023 as the Formula Regional Middle East Championship, the series was rebranded under the Trophy guise after the FIA introduced a new concept for single-seater championships held over shorter, constrained timeframes. ^[1] The change in guise coincided with a change in technical regulations, as the series switched to a new chassis and engine spec. ^[2]

The championship is held over four rounds in January and February 2026. ^[3]

Teams and drivers

The championship retired the Tatuus F3 T-318 chassis it had used since its inception and replaced it with the new Tatuus T-326, powered by a 1.6 litre, 3-cylinder Toyota engine running on Pirelli tires. ^[2] The eleven teams competing in the 2026 season were announced on 12 December 2025. ^{[4] [5]}

Team No. Driver Status Rounds Rodin Motorsport 2 Alex Ninovic [6] 1–2 4 Reza Seewooruthun [6] 1–2 18 Maxim Rehm [6] R 1–2 Trident 3 Maximilian Popov [a] [7] R 1–2 47 Andrija Kostić [7] R 1–2 87 Kai Daryanani [b] [7] 1–2 RPM 5 Miguel Costa [8] R 1–2 8 Jan Przyrowski [9] R 1–2 99 Giovanni Maschio [8] 1–2 CL Motorsport 6 Enea Frey [10] R 1–2 28 Zhenrui Chi [c] [11] 1–2 57 Michael Belov [d] [11] 1 Van Amersfoort Racing 11 Franciso Macedo [12] 1–2 55 Dion Gowda [13] 1–2 68 Yuhao Fu [14] R 1–2 R-ace GP 12 Yuki Sano [15] 1–2 71 Rashid Al Dhaheri [16] 1–2 73 Gerrard Xie [17] 1–2 TBA Emanuele Olivieri [18] R TBC G4 Racing 14 Artem Severiukhin [d] [19] R 1–2 24 Jules Roussel [20] R 1–2 67 Andrea Dupé [21] R 1–2 MP Motorsport 15 Alexander Abkhazava [22] 1–2 16 Christian Ho [22] 1–2 17 Alceu Feldmann Neto [22] 1–2 ART Grand Prix 19 Kabir Anurag [23] R 1–2 27 Matteo Giaccardi [24] R 1–2 89 Taito Kato [25] 1–2 TBA Tasanapol Inthraphuvasak [26] TBC Pinnacle Motorsport 29 August Raber [e] [27] R 1–2 41 Alex Powell [27] R 1–2 Mumbai Falcons Racing Limited 51 Kean Nakamura-Berta [f] [28] R 1–2 88 Salim Hanna R 1–2 98 Sebastian Wheldon R 1–2

Icon Status R Rookie

Race calendar

The 2026 calendar was officially announced on 31 October 2025. ^[3] The adoption of the Formula Regional Trophy format saw the number of race weekends reduced to four, with the series scheduled to make two visits in Yas Marina Circuit, compared to three in the previous year.

Round		Circuit	Date	Support bill	Map of circuit locations
1	R1	Yas Marina Circuit, Yas Island	17 January	Gulf Radical Cup UAE4 Series	Yas Marina Dubai Lusail
	R2		18 January
	R3
2	R1		24 January	UAE4 Series
	R2		25 January
	R3
3	R1	Dubai Autodrome, Dubai Motor City	30 January – 1 February	Asian Le Mans Series (4H of Dubai) UAE4 Series
	R2
	R3
4	R1	Lusail International Circuit, Lusail	11–13 February	UAE4 Series Toyota Gazoo Racing GR Yaris Cup Qatar
	R2
	R3

Race results

Round		Circuit	Pole position	Fastest lap	Winning driver	Winning team	Rookie winner
1	R1	Yas Marina Circuit	Alexander Abkhazava	Kean Nakamura-Berta	Alexander Abkhazava	MP Motorsport	Maximilian Popov
	R2			Christian Ho	Christian Ho	MP Motorsport	Miguel Costa
	R3		Rashid Al Dhaheri	Rashid Al Dhaheri	Rashid Al Dhaheri	R-ace GP	Alex Powell
2	R1
	R2
	R3
3	R1	Dubai Autodrome
	R2
	R3
4	R1	Lusail International Circuit
	R2
	R3

Season report

The 2025 Formula Regional Middle East Trophy began with two race weekends at Yas Marina Circuit. MP Motorsport's Alexander Abkhazava and R-ace GP's Rashid Al Dhaheri shared pole positions in qualifying at the first weekend. The first race of the season began with Abkhazava keeping Al Dhaheri and Trident's Maximilian Popov behind at the start before winning a processional race with little changes in the order. ^[29] The second race began with multiple cars stalling, among them Rodin's Reza Seewooruthun, who was then heavily hit by CL Motorsport's Michael Belov, causing a red flag. Trident's Andrija Kostić led the restart before being handed a drive-through penalty, which handed the lead to RPM's Miguel Costa before MP's Christian Ho overtook him to claim victory. Rodin's Alex Ninovic took third, before stalling off the front row in race three. That allowed Al Dhaheri to pull away, leading Pinnacle's Alex Powell and Ho throug a second red flag-interrupted race to take his maiden Formula Regional victory and the lead in the standings. ^{[30] [31]}

Championship standings

Scoring system

Points are awarded to the top ten classified drivers as follows. ^[32]

Position	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th	6th	7th	8th	9th	10th
Points	25	18	15	12	10	8	6	4	2	1

Drivers' Championship

Pos Driver YMC1 YMC2 DUB LUS Pts R1 R2 R3 R1 R2 R3 R1 R2 R3 R1 R2 R3 1 Rashid Al Dhaheri 2 5 1 53 2 Christian Ho 8 1 3 44 3 Alexander Abkhazava 1 6 17 33 4 Maximilian Popov 3 8 6 27 5 Alex Powell 6 23 2 26 6 Kean Nakamura-Berta 4 Ret 5 22 7 Alex Ninovic 7 3 18 21 8 Miguel Costa 10 2 Ret 19 9 Kabir Anurag 22 14 4 12 10 Salim Hanna 15 4 20 12 11 Taito Kato 5 Ret DNS 10 12 Zhenrui Chi 17 9 7 8 13 Franciso Macedo 16 7 22 6 14 Andrija Kostić 12 Ret 8 4 15 Artem Severiukhin 13 16 9 2 16 Maxim Rehm 9 27 Ret 2 17 Gerrard Xie 21 10 12 1 18 Yuki Sano 24 13 10 1 19 Dion Gowda 23 12 11 0 20 Andrea Dupé 20 11 23 0 21 Reza Seewooruthun 11 Ret DNS 0 22 Jan Przyrowski 14 26 13 0 23 Sebastian Wheldon 31 21 14 0 24 Yuhao Fu 30 22 15 0 25 Giovanni Maschio 25 15 Ret 0 26 Alceu Feldmann Neto 32 25 16 0 27 Kai Daryanani 19 17 24† 0 28 Jules Roussel 26 18 19 0 29 Michael Belov 18 Ret DNS 0 30 August Raber 28 19 Ret 0 31 Enea Frey 27 20 Ret 0 32 Matteo Giaccardi 29 24 21 0 Pos Driver R1 R2 R3 R1 R2 R3 R1 R2 R3 R1 R2 R3 Pts YMC1 YMC2 DUB LUS

Colour Result Gold Winner Silver Second place Bronze Third place Green Points classification Blue Non-points classification Non-classified finish (NC) Purple Retired, not classified (Ret) Red Did not qualify (DNQ) Did not pre-qualify (DNPQ) Black Disqualified (DSQ) White Did not start (DNS) Withdrew (WD) Race cancelled (C) Blank Did not practice (DNP) Did not arrive (DNA) Excluded (EX) Bold – Pole Italics – Fastest Lap † – Driver did not finish the race, but was classified as they completed more than 75% of the race distance.

Rookie Cup

Pos	Driver	YMC1			YMC2			DUB			LUS			Pts
		R1	R2	R3	R1	R2	R3	R1	R2	R3	R1	R2	R3
1	Maximilian Popov	1	3	4										52
2	Alex Powell	3	12	1										40
3	Miguel Costa	5	1	Ret										35
4	Kean Nakamura-Berta	2	Ret	3										33
5	Kabir Anurag	11	5	2										28
6	Artem Severiukhin	7	6	6										22
7	Salim Hanna	9	2	11										20
8	Andrija Kostić	6	Ret	5										18
9	Andrea Dupé	10	4	13										13
10	Maxim Rehm	4	15	Ret										12
11	Jan Przyrowski	8	14	7										10
12	Jules Roussel	12	7	10										7
13	Sebastian Wheldon	17	10	8										5
14	August Raber	14	8	Ret										4
15	Yuhao Fu	16	11	9										2
16	Enea Frey	13	9	Ret										2
17	Matteo Giaccardi	15	13	12										0
Pos	Driver	R1	R2	R3	R1	R2	R3	R1	R2	R3	R1	R2	R3	Pts
		YMC1			YMC2			DUB			LUS

Teams' Championship

Ahead of each event, teams nominate two drivers who accumulate teams' points.

Pos	Team	No.	YMC1			YMC2			DUB			LUS			Pts
			R1	R2	R3	R1	R2	R3	R1	R2	R3	R1	R2	R3
1	MP Motorsport	15	1	6	18										77
		16	8	1	3
2	R-ace GP	12	24	14	10										54
		71	2	5	1
3	Trident	3	3	8	6										31
		47	12	Ret	8
4	Pinnacle Motorsport	29	28	21	Ret										26
		41	6	24	2
5	Mumbai Falcons Racing Limited	51	4	Ret	5										22
		98	31	21	14
6	ART Grand Prix	19	22	16	4										22
		89	5	Ret	DNS
7	Rodin Motorsport	2	7	3	12										21
		4	11	Ret	DNS
8	RPM	5	10	2	Ret										19
		8	14	20	14
9	CL Motorsport	28	17	9	7										8
		57	18	Ret	DNS
10	Van Amersfoort Racing	11	16	7	20										6
		55	23	13	11
11	G4 Racing	14	13	18	9										2
		67	20	12	23
Pos	Team	No.	R1	R2	R3	R1	R2	R3	R1	R2	R3	R1	R2	R3	Pts
			YMC1			YMC2			DUB			LUS

Notes

1. Popov is Russian-Grenadian, but he competes under an Italian licence as Russian national emblems were banned by the FIA following the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
2. Daryanani is an Indian driver competing under a British licence.
3. Chi is a Chinese driver competing under an Italian licence.
4. Belov and Severiukhin are Russian, but they compete under an Emirati and a Kyrgyz licence, respectively, as Russian national emblems were banned by the FIA following the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
5. Raber is a Swedish driver competing under an Emirati licence.
6. Nakamura-Berta is a Japanese-Slovakian driver competing under a British licence.

References

1. "Milestones set at World Motor Sport Council in Macau". Federation Internationale de l'Automobile . 10 June 2025. Retrieved 26 June 2025.
2. "Formula Regional Middle East Announces GEN2 Car for 2026 Season - TOP SPEED SPORTS EVENTS LS LIMITED". en.fregionalme.com. Retrieved 31 October 2025.
3. "Formula Regional Middle East Trophy on Instagram: '💥Announce the 2026 Formula Middle East Calendar!'". Instagram . 31 October 2025. Retrieved 31 October 2025.
4. "Formula Regional Middle East unveils 11-strong powerhouse team entry - TOP SPEED SPORTS EVENTS LS LIMITED". Formula Regional Middle East Trophy . 12 December 2025. Retrieved 12 December 2025.
5. "The new Tatuus T-326 set for its competitive debut at Yas Marina". tatuus.it. Tatuus. January 2026. Retrieved 17 January 2026.
6. "rodinmotorsport on Instagram: 'Say hello to the lineup'". Instagram . 7 January 2026. Retrieved 7 January 2026.
7. "Trident with Daryanani in the Middle East and European Regional series". Trident Racing . 9 January 2026. Retrieved 9 January 2026.
8. Wood, Ida (2 January 2026). "Maschio continues with Race Performance Motorsport in FREC". Formula Scout. Retrieved 2 January 2026.
9. Wood, Ida (15 December 2025). "Przyrowski steps up to FRegional with Race Performance Motorsport". Formula Scout. Retrieved 15 December 2025.
10. "CL MOTORSPORT CONFIRMS ENEA FREY FOR THE FRME". CL Motorsport. 23 December 2025. Retrieved 23 December 2025.
11. "frmiddleeasttrophyon Instagram: '[Enea FREY],[CHI Zhenrui], and [Michael BELOV] to Race with [CL MOTORSPORT] in 2026 Formula Regional Middle East Trophy". Instagram . 13 January 2026. Retrieved 13 January 2026.
12. "Francisco Macedo signs with Van Amersfoort Racing for Formula Regional". Van Amersfoort Racing . 14 January 2026. Retrieved 14 January 2026.
13. "Dion Gowda continues with Van Amersfoort Racing in Formula Regional". Van Amersfoort Racing . 9 January 2026. Retrieved 9 January 2026.
14. "Van Amersfoort Racing welcomes Felix Fu for Formula Regional Middle East Trophy". Van Amersfoort Racing . 17 December 2025. Retrieved 17 December 2025.
15. "TOYOTA GAZOO Racing Presents its 2026 motorsport team setups in Japan". Toyota Gazoo Racing . 19 December 2025. Retrieved 19 December 2025.
16. Wood, Ida (13 January 2026). "MP Motorsport and R-ace GP announce FRegional Middle East line-ups". Formula Scout. Retrieved 13 January 2026.
17. "R-ace GP on Instagram: 'And last but not least, Formula 3 driver @gerrard_xie_official will compete in the first two rounds of the @frmiddleeasttrophy with R-ace GP 🔥'". Instagram . 13 January 2026. Retrieved 14 January 2026.
18. "Feeder Series on X: 'DRIVER ANNOUNCEMENT | 🇮🇹 Emanuele Olivieri joins R-ace GP for the final two rounds of Formula Regional Middle East Trophy, replacing Gerrard Xie.'". X. 14 January 2026. Retrieved 14 January 2026.
19. "G4 Racing confirms Artem Severiukhin for FRMET 2026". G4 Racing . 12 January 2026. Retrieved 12 January 2026.
20. Chambenoit, Mathieu (9 January 2026). "Jules Roussel to FRMET with G4 Racing". AUTOHebdo. Retrieved 9 January 2026.
21. "G4 Racing confirms Andrea Dupé for FRMET 2026". G4 Racing . 11 January 2026. Retrieved 11 January 2026.
22. "MP Motorsport announces three-car line-up for 2026 FR Middle East Trophy". MP Motorsport . 13 January 2026. Retrieved 13 January 2026.
23. "Kabir Anurag joins ART in FREC/FREMEC in 2026". ART Grand Prix . 15 December 2025. Retrieved 15 December 2025.
24. "ART announces Matteo Giaccardi for the 2026 FREC/FRME". ART Grand Prix . 8 January 2026. Retrieved 8 January 2026.
25. "Honda 2026 Motorsports Program Overview". Honda. 9 January 2026. Retrieved 9 January 2026.
26. "Formula Regional Middle East Trophy on Instagram: '‼️DRIVER ANNOUNCEMENT‼️'". Instagram . 13 January 2026. Retrieved 14 January 2026.
27. Wood, Ida (12 January 2026). "Alex Powell headed to FRME as G4 Racing and Pinnacle grow line-ups". Formula Scout. Retrieved 12 January 2026.
28. "Italian F4 Champion Kean Nakamura-Berta joins the Williams F1 Team Driver Academy". Atlassian Williams F1 Team. Retrieved 9 January 2026.
29. "Abkhazava and Bondarev claim first spoils of 2026 season at Yas Marina". Formula Regional Middle East Trophy . 18 January 2026. Retrieved 20 January 2026.
30. "Al Dhaheri and Bondarev lead the way after action-packed Abu Dhabi season-opener". Formula Regional Middle East Trophy . 19 January 2026. Retrieved 20 January 2026.
31. "Feeder Series weekend review, results and standings: 15–18 January". Feeder Series. 19 January 2026. Retrieved 20 January 2026.
32. "Formula Regional Middle East Trophy - Sporting Regulations 2026". 5 January 2026. Retrieved 12 January 2026.

External links

• Official website