Kicking off their new era in British F4 with a brand new line up of Matias Zagazeta, Marcos Flack and Eduardo Coseteng, Phinsys by Argenti scored an outright podium as well as an impressive rookie cup victory at the high speed Thruxton Circuit to start their 2021 campaign in impressive fashion.
Second year driver Matias Zagazeta arrived at the team with full intentions of gunning for the title, and after race one on Saturday afternoon the Peruvian looked ready for the challenge, scoring a fantastic maiden podium in mixed conditions, with team mate and rookie Eduardo Coseteng scoring a very impressive fourth place overall and rookie cup win to back up Argenti’s credentials.
Coseteng would later score two further fastest laps in race two and three, albeit just missing out on points finishes. But the promising rookie from the Philippines showed enough on his opening weekend in single seaters to worry his competitors for the remainder of the season.
Marcos Flack would also show plenty of promise even if the results didn’t fall the way of the rookie. A spirited points finish in race three in a chaotic rain effect and delayed race showed the tenacity of the young Australian, and you can expect to see Flack continue to develop as we go through the season.
Contrasting fortunes greeted the drivers after a wet first qualifying session of the season, with Zagazeta finishing in eighth place, the highest running Argenti car, and Flack and Coseteng in fourteenth and fifteenth respectively. But as the day rolled by, the weather started to shift and the track began to dry by the time the first race was due to begin later in the afternoon.
The team elected to put all three drivers on slick tyres for the race start, and it turned out to be an inspired move as Zagazeta and Coseteng both immediately starting carving through the field and passing the wet tyre shod cars at will, with the Peruvian ace Zagazeta scoring a podium and taking fastest lap and Coseteng finishing in fourth. but unfortunately Marcos Flack spun on the opening lap, forcing him to retire.
When Sunday came about, the track had dried and it was time for the class of 2021 in British to take centre stage in front of a watching audience at home on ITV4. Race two saw the first ever full reverse grid in the series, and the new regulation lived up to its billing of hopefully providing entertaining racing. A race of attrition, Zagazeta once again led the Argenti front line with a spirited drive to eighth place after battling on the fringes of the top ten for the whole race.
Coseteng and Flack would struggle more however, as both started near the sharp end of the grid but would slowly fall back after both spinning from close quarters racing on the fast and flowing circuit. Flack would recover to eleventh and Coseteng would finish a lap down but still score the fastest lap of the race, outlining Argenti’s raw pace.
Race three couldn’t have been more different for the 16 drivers however, as the rain was approaching the circuit for the final race of the weekend. The race started dry, but Zagazeta would be caught in a final chicane tangle with three other cars that would bring out a red flag and eventually postpone the race to be completed after the resumption of the final BTCC race of the weekend.
The team did a fantastic job to get Zagazeta’s car ready for the restart, and when the the race did eventually resume in now treacherous wet conditions, it was Marcos Flack that would finish the highest of the Argenti runners in tenth ahead of Coseteng in eleventh, who scored yet another fastest lap. Zagazeta was unable to finish due to damage sustained on lap one, but it was a tremendous effort from the team to get the car ready.
Team Manager Michael Meadows was apprehensive to call the weekend a success, begrudging the team’s poor luck. But the very high pace showed by all three drivers left the team leader in a positive mindset for what the rest of the season can bring for the Argenti squad.
“It’s been a weekend of mixed fortunes as we enjoyed some good results on Saturday, but then didn’t get the results our pace deserved on Sunday. Starting the season at Thruxton is a unique challenge, especially in the wet/dry conditions we had. There are many positives to take away though and the main one is that we have pace, that was proven by getting the fastest lap in each race.
“We made a great call to run slick tyres in race one and that gave Matias the opportunity to score a podium and Eduardo a rookie cup win. All three drivers, new to the team this year, have driven well, the luck just wasn’t on their side at times. That’s the first event out of the way now and we focus on building on this start at Snetterton next month.” said Team Manager Michael Meadows.
The next three rounds of the series take place at Snetterton’s 300 circuit on 12-13 June.
