Toni Forné and Álvaro Fontes almost took the European title in the Radical European Masters last weekend.
In a three-way battle, their goal was to win the series as they led for much of the season with the Radical SR3 entered by Speed Factory Racing. After Friday´s test sessions, both drivers approached two vital qualifying sessions, with Forné taking place in Q1 – with the two best lap times from each driver determining starting grids- and Fontes in Q2. The Catalan driver clocked a time of 1:51.286 to be 2nd and 3rd and Fontes finished 3rd with a best lap of 1:52.185.
Race one didn´t produce such a fortunate outcome. A problem after mandatory pit-stop, when the car didn´t start, resulted in the loss of valuable time, crossing the finish line fourth anyway. But after the race they were given a time penalty, as a result of an incident, and the Castrol-sponsored car dropped to fifth. Race two wouldn´t be any better, because Fontes was battling with Shain Nouri for lead but the Spaniard was forced to retire after a collision. Finally on Sunday the duo of Speed Factory Racing took win after beating Nouri and Andy Cummings / Bradley Ellis. After the season finale, Forné and Fontes placed 3rd in the drivers´ standings.
“This weekend proved to be disastrous for us and our chances to win the Radical European Masters. At least we fulfilled the objective that we set at the beginning: to fight for the European crown and we did it until the very last lap on Sunday. I´m disappointed because there were a number of reasons affecting our chances but it was such an intense experience to win at home in front of passionate home crowd. Many thanks to all of you for making this season possible”, Fontes explained.
Teammate Forné agreed by saying that “it was such a shame considering our results earlier this season and missing out on the title by just six points. Race one wasn´t a good start after our pit-stop going wrongly and then Álvaro forced to retire in Race two. At least we ended the season winning. I would like finish by thanking our sponsors, Castrol and Happy Racer, and fans their support. I would like to congratulate Speed Factory Racing because they were so professional throughout the season. And of course my teammate Álvaro always a quick driver on track”.
