FRECA 2024: Zach David suffers tech error, misses crucial points at Imola

Zach David aboard R-ace GP #20 car during round 7 of the Formula Regional European Championship by Alpine 2024 in Imola, Italy. (Photo courtesy of Dutch Photo Agency)

A technical error during the first race compromised what could have been two point-yielding finishes for Filipino speedster Zach David in round 7 of the Formula Regional European Championship by Alpine 2024.

David had good qualifying results—P6 and P5 for the first and second races, respectively — that could have boosted his chances to seal back-to-back podium outcomes at the Imola track in Italy. 

READ: FRECA 2024: Zach David gets first podium in round 2 at Spa

During the first race, David was pushing to recover his two-place drop to P8 when it was announced that his #20 R-ace GP car was under investigation for an error in the starting procedure.

Consequently, the 17-year-old driver had to hit the brakes and yield after he got slapped with a drive through penalty due to an apparatus the team failed to detach prior to the race start.

LOOK: An apparatus detached from Zach David's #20 R-ace GP car that prompted an investigation. David was later given a drive through penalty. (Screengrab from Formula Regional European Championship by Alpine/YouTube)

A drive through penalty requires a driver to enter the pit lane without stopping. In a race with a shorter duration and strategies that do not include pitting, serving this penalty may make it impossible to recover positions and fight for points. 

David finished P27. Rafael Camara of PREMA Recing took the victory in this race.

IN PHOTO: Zach David serving his drive through penalty in the pit lane during race 1 of round 7 of FRECA 2024 in Imola. (Screengrab from Formula Regional European Championship by Alpine/YouTube) 

In the second race, the Maltese-licensed driver averted an early chaos in the opening lap that involved championship leaders Camara and David’s teammate Tuukka Taponen. 

This allowed David to move up to podium territory at P3, but moved down to P4 after the second safety car period. 

Alessandro Giusti of ART Grand Prix was this race’s winner.

David finished strong in fourth place that gave him 12 championship points for the weekend. 

David now has 51 points. He retained his 11th place ranking on the leaderboard prior to the month-long calendar break. 

READ:  Zach David recalibrates to 'head stronger' in second half of FRECA 2024

Here is the schedule of the remaining rounds:

Round 8 at Red Bull Ring, Austria: September: 14-15

Round 9 at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya: September September 28-29

Round 10 at Autodromo Nazionale Monza: October 26-27

All races may be streamed live through Formula Regional European Championship by Alpine's YouTube channel.