It was a weekend full of missed opportunities when Zach David made his Formula Regional European Championship by Alpine (FRECA) debut at Hockenheimring, Germany. A costly error and lengthy Safety Car periods robbed his chances of a strong result, leaving the Malta-licensed Filipino driver pointless after the opening round of 2024.
Zach was consistently at the sharp end of the field during Official Practice, giving him high hopes for the races. Driving the #20 entry of R-ace GP, he managed to Qualify in P6 on the grid for Race 1 on Saturday.
A quick launch off the line saw the 16-year-old make up 2 places straightaway as the 33-car grid funneled through Turn 1. Unfortunately, Zach’s race lasted only a few hundred meters after. He locked up braking into Turn 2 that pitched him into a spin before another driver made contact with his stricken car. Sadly, he was unable to continue while fighting in P4.
Zach would get another shot to turn his fortunes around on Sunday. Although he ended up P24 in Qualifying, he still had a chance to fight. He was on attack mode as soon as the lights turned green in Race 2 and was up to P18 at the end of the second lap.
He was on a charge as soon as the lights turned green in Race 2 and was up to P18 at the end of the second lap before the Safety Car was called out on track. Zach gained another place after the restart, but the Safety Car was sent out again on 2 more occasions after. With so many incidents, the race was under green flag for only a handful of laps and limited Zach’s opportunities to overtake. In the end, the entire field crossed the finish finish line under full course yellow with Zach concluding his first FRECA weekend in 16th.
Despite missing out on the points, Zach was able to show a lot of potential on his first FRECA outing. He’ll be aiming to convert his pace into point-scoring finishes in 2 week’s time when the season hosts Round 2 at Spa-Francorchamps in Belgium on May 25/26.
Zach David: “A tough weekend at Hockenheim. I surely had the speed and was driving well, just a few unlucky moments and some things out of my control that prevented us from having good results. It’s just annoying that the results don’t reflect our real pace and potential. But that’s all behind me now and the goal is to show what I can really do in Spa for the next round.”
Zach David is sponsored by Ceramic Pro, Stilo Helmets, Attard Baldacchino, Puma, Green Amenities, JG Summit Olefins Corporation, AutoPlus Sports, Automobile Association Philippines, Time Attack Manila, ISR, and Malta Motorsports Federation.
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[Photos courtesy of Dutch Photo Agency]