Despite experiencing tire degradation issues on Saturday, Zachary ‘Zach’ David turned things around to deliver a 6th place finish on Sunday at the Mugello Circuit. This gives the Malta-licensed Filipino driver a lot of confidence as the Formula Regional European Championship by Alpine (FRECA) reaches its halfway mark in 2024.
The level of competition has now reached new heights with the FRECA grid stretching to 33 entries. This means that despite being only 0.523 secs off pole position during Saturday Qualifying, Zach ended up P13 on the grid for Race 1.
He got off to a clean start and slotted into P11 by the end of the first lap. But halfway into the race, as he pushed hard in an attempt to further improve his position, his #20 R-ace GP entry began to slip back due to tire degradation issues. Zach had to defend from a hard-charging Ruiqi Liu of Trident Motorsport all the way to the finish line to maintain his 12th place.
With lessons learned from the previous day, the 16-year-old yielded better results in Sunday Qualifying. P7 on the grid placed him within striking distance of his championship rivals and would start alongside his teammate Tuukka Taponen.
Zach muscled his way at the start of Race 2, avoiding contact and successfully moving himself up to P6. He then tailed his teammate as both R-ace GP drivers chased after the front-runners. However, with all the drivers so evenly matched, it proved hard to find an overtaking spot around the 5.245 km circuit. Zach held position throughout the 18-lap race to secure a solid 6th place when the chequered flag dropped to add to his points tally.
With a double-header weekend between Mugello and Paul Ricard, there will hardly be any time to rest as the Formula Regional European Championship by Alpine (FRECA) moves to France for Round 6 on the 20th to 21st of July.
Zach David: “A lot of positives from the weekend at Mugello. No big mistakes, clean driving, and finished both races higher than where we started. Given how the weekend panned out, finishing 6th in Race 2 was the best as a team could do. What’s important was to end with good points. Some things to fix and work on for Paul Ricard, but a very good progression through the weekend fills us with confidence going into race week.”
For more info and the latest updates, follow ZachdavidRacing on Facebook, @zachdavidracing on Instagram, @zachdavid.racing on TikTok, and @zachdavidracing on YouTube.
[Photos courtesy of Dutch Photo Agency]
