Unable to replicate his strong form from Imola and with bad luck, it was a tough weekend for Zachary ‘Zach’ David at the Red Bull Ring. But in the end, the Malta-licensed Filipino driver wrestled a Top 10 result on Sunday in Round 8 of the Formula Regional European Championship by Alpine (FRECA).
All 3 R-ace GP drivers struggled with pace throughout Testing and were all over the time sheets in very wet conditions. Unfortunately, despite the team’s best efforts, their fortunes failed to improve in Saturday’s Qualifying. David flat-spotted his front right tyre early in the session, making it difficult to set a fast lap. His best effort could only yield the 12th fastest in Group A, which put him P23 on the grid, just a few places behind teammate Tuukka Taponen.
David had a lot of work to do in Race 1 as he was starting close to the back. A quick launch off the line saw the #20 R-ace GP entry shoot up to P20 after 1 corner, then climbed several more places to P15 a few turns later. However, his stellar start to the race ended just as fast when another driver made an error in the tricky conditions and collided with David. This sadly forced him into a DNF before completing a single lap.
As with previous rounds, David sought payback on Sunday. He set a fast time early on during Group A Qualifying before the rain fell hard. While the others were caught out by the sudden downpour, his time earned him P6 on the grid ahead of his R-ace GP teammates and with a clear shot at the leaders.
Another clean getaway gave David a chance to gain 2 places at the start, and he was fighting for a podium position after only 2 laps. But then, some bad luck struck, with Rafael Camara of Prema Racing locking up and crashing into David’s rear. Although he could continue, the contact adversely affected his car as Race 2 progressed and proved harder and harder to defend with an ailing car. It then became damage limitation mode for David, who crossed the finish line in 9th with a couple of points in the bag.
The Formula Regional European Championship by Alpine (FRECA) will now head to the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya in Spain for the penultimate round 2024. Meanwhile, Zack David maintains his position in 11th in the Drivers’ Standings.
Zach David: “A very tough weekend as a team. We were making good progress in the races, but unfortunately got hit from behind on Saturday and Sunday. This compromised our results, but we were still lucky to bring it home in 9th. We just didn’t seem to be able to find the pace we had at Imola last week. There is a lot of work to do to turn things around for Barcelona in 2 weeks.”
