Kalle Rovanperä takes her first podium in Teretonga!

Kalle Rovanperä on the podium of a single-seater race is already a reality! At Teretonga, the venue for the third round of the Formula Regional Oceania season, the Finn braved the elements to climb into the top 3 of Race 1, behind the winner Freddie Slater, and the Japanese driver Jin Nakamura.

Looking back at the events, it wasn't an easy start to the weekend for the drivers competing. First, the competitors had to contend with a qualifying session marked by heavy rain. In total, three red flags were waved, caused by off-track excursions from Jin Nakamura (who had set the fastest time on merit), Fionn McLaughlin (originally fourth), and Nolan Allaer (fifth). All three drivers received penalties, allowing Kalle Rovanperä to move up to third place on the grid after completing only five laps.

As has been his custom since the start of his Formula Regional Oceania adventure, Kalle Rovanperä made no mistakes in a race that, once again, took place in torrential rain at Teretonga. Displaying a strong pace, undoubtedly sufficient to aim for second place, the Finn proved himself in the most challenging conditions to date. This observation is all the more promising given that the rally seems to give him a distinct advantage over some inexperienced young pilots.

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Slater finally wins, Ugochukwu catches up

At the top of the podium, occupied by a beaming Kalle Rovanperä, stood a young man whose performances had tended to disappoint. Freddie Slater, the reigning European Formula Regional champion, was expected to be part of the dominant team in F3 This year, he had still not won a single race in Oceania despite eight attempts. Also particularly comfortable in the New Zealand rain, the Briton gave his pursuers no chance, reminding everyone that his chances of overall victory are still very much alive at this stage of the competition.

Unfortunately for Ugo Ugochukwu, the championship leader who should have started from a prime position in Race 2 (thanks to the reverse grid), this race was simply cancelled. Although the competition plans to announce the schedule for the rest of the weekend later, the torrential rain prevented race control from starting the second race of the day. In the meantime, races 3 and 4, which are still expected to take place tonight, will be held in rainy conditions.

FROT (Oceania Regional Formula) – Teretonga
The classification of Race 1