Tuukka Taponen lived up to his fans’ expectations

Tuukka Taponen, a 17-year-old driver from the town of Lohja, is considered the top hope of Finnish motorsport, and today he delighted his fans by winning the Middle East Formula Regional (FRMEC) title ahead of schedule.

The final of the three-race FRMEC youth series takes place at the Dubai Autodrome this weekend and Tuukka immediately made a serious bid for victory, winning both qualifying sessions. Then, starting from pole in the first race, he confidently cruised to victory, and the reserve of points gained in the previous stages was enough to win the title ahead of schedule. None of his rivals will be able to overtake him, while the battle for the title of vice-champion still continues.

Furthermore, Taponen’s victory today and the second place of Zachary David, his Maltese teammate in the R-ace GP, ensured the French team’s victory in the team competition. It is also worth noting that a week ago, based on the results of the previous stage, Tuukka became the winner of the so-called “Rookie Cup”, as this is his debut season in the Middle East youth series.

In the fall of 2022, Taponen was accepted into the Ferrari Racing Academy, and it is important that he is financially supported by one of Finland’s richest people, billionaire Antti Aarnio-Vihuri, who once did a lot for Valtteri Bottas.

“Everything went very well again, although I didn’t have the best start because the track was quite slippery,” said Tuukka in an interview with the Finnish newspaper Iltalehti. – At the beginning of the race I attacked very aggressively, but then the team on the radio asked me to save the tires, and I let Zachary come closer.

Now that the job is done, I can take more risks in some situations. But I’m not going to celebrate anything special yet, and today we will celebrate the success very modestly.”

In 2024, Taponen will continue to compete in the European Formula Regional as part of the same team: “In principle, everything should work out fine there too, because the entire R-ace GP racing team remains the same that worked at the races. of this winter series. But there will be many differences: a different engine, different brakes, different tires.

Furthermore, the first four stages will take place on circuits that I have never ridden before. We have to try to perform well from the start of the season and earn points consistently. It’s always better to finish second than to crash your car. The title I won today will give me confidence.”

Taponen has achieved four victories in 12 races, a total of 8 times on the podium and already has 220 points. You may remember that Andrea Kimi Antonelli, a driver from Mercedes’ youth program who is already being called the most promising representative of this generation, achieved 192 points in 15 FRMEC races last year.