2016 CIK-FIA Best-Of: Ricky Flynn, the opinion of an experienced professional on the 2016 season

Continuously at the pinnacle of International Competition since 2013, with its two European titles and three world titles in KF and KF-Junior, the British team RFM negotiated the arrival of new OK categories without difficulty in 2016, in particular taking the European Championship in OK-Junior with Finlay Kenneally.

Let’s start with the new OK engine generation. How was the transition for RFM?

– The introduction of new OK engines has not fundamentally changed our work or our performance. It got easier with the removal of unnecessary elements like the clutch, starter motor and electrics, which is a good decision for everyone, including financially. The technical developments, based on proven engines, are minor and reliability is not an issue. The OK-Junior has benefited from the maturity of the KF-Junior to attract a large number of participants in the first year. OK must prove itself more to attract a wider range, with the downside, in my view, of a very low minimum weight that eliminates Drivers over a certain size.

Have you encountered other problems this year?

– The season has been more difficult regarding tyres. Obviously the tyres provided were not always of the same quality and this caused performance variations. It is not easy to explain to a young Driver that is not necessarily him responsible for a sudden drop in competitiveness. We worked on our chassis to reduce the discrepancies, but it was impossible to compensate entirely. The lack of consistency of the tyres in 2016 was a real problem.

What is your opinion on lowering the age in place for next season?

– The best solution would have been to raise the age for cars because it is the main problem. I favour a points system similar to that of the Super Licence. If a young driver wants to go to cars at 16, he should previously have been proven in the European and World Karting Championships. I am very concerned about the risks that are taken and some young Drivers are not experienced enough for cars. I cannot imagine the consequences of a severe accident. Lowering the age to access the Junior and Senior categories by a year improves the situation somewhat by allowing young people to learn for another year in OK for example, but this is a stopgap.

How do you rate the current overall standard of Drivers?

– It must be recognised that there is a relative decline in the general standard of Drivers, whether in Karting, Junior and Senior, or in cars in F4 to F3, GP3, GP2. If you look ten years back, you realise that there were then about 30 good drivers on the starting grid while there are now only about 10 with real capabilities. This is clearly the result of learning in less advanced Karting because of being too young to go into cars.

Info CIK-FIA / © Photos KSP