A solid weekend at Mugello Circuit in Italy has given Zachary ‘Zach’ David a lot of confidence as the Formula Regional European Championship by Alpine (FRECA) passes its halfway mark in 2024. After experiencing tire degradation issues on Saturday, the Malta-licensed Filipino driver fought his way to a strong point-scoring finish on Sunday to conclude Round 5 on a high note.

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, David 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. David 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.

David 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. David just held position throughout the 18-lap race to secure a solid 6th place when the chequered flag dropped with points in the bag.

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.”

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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