At Zuera, Taoufik's retirement in the Prefinal destroyed the hopes of the British team in OK-Junior of winning in the first of four meetings of the 2016 CIK-FIA European Championship. But the other RFM drivers, Kenneally and Peisselon, took over in the top five and Sargeant has preserved his chances by finishing 4th in the OK category.
Although starting with the 2nd fastest time in OK Qualifying, Logan Sargeant lost his advantage in the second heat before being able to return first to 8th in the Prefinal, then 4th in the Final, a more than respectable result, although it didn't totally satisfy Ricky Flynn: "We are far from returning to the level of performance of La Conca in April where Logan dominated the third round of the WSK. We are studying all of the parameters to understand the situation better and get back to the front in the next race at Adria." For his return to karting competition, Sun Yue Yang finished the meeting at Zuera at the gates of the top 10.
Again Sami Taoufik took the colours of RFM highest in the early stages of the European competition. With pole position and the winner of his first three heats, the young Moroccan started as the leader in Prefinal 2, but was delayed on the first lap with engine problems which got worse until he retired. Fin Kenneally then took over and won the race ahead of Timothy Peisselon. Both drivers were involved in the Final battle in the leading group and crossed the finish line in the top five.
After his retirement during Heat B-E, Niklas Kruetten qualified 10th in the Prefinal and again regained seven places in the Final to finish 13th. Only posting the 32nd lap in Qualifying, Dmitrii Bogdanov lost 10 places in his last race before being penalised for a dislodged spoiler. However, he came back six places in the Prefinal and managed to finish 16th in a troubled Final. Although placed in the top 10 ranking at the end of the heats, Oscar Piastri was 2nd on the first lap of Prefinal 1 before falling into the fight and missing qualification.
The RFM team will be at Adria next weekend to prepare for the next European competition, and also to complete the WSK Super Master Series. Taoufik leads the standings in OK-Junior and Sargeant is only six points behind in OK. The chances of success are real.
Info Kartcom / © Photos KSP