Geleyns ‘really wasn’t expecting’ podium finish in Finland

Despite proving to be in the mix in heat one at the KymiRing and winding up less than four seconds adrift of the quickest time of the session, Geleyns had to be content with seventh place in the high-calibre Euro RX3 field, but he swiftly battled back in heat two. After nailing the launch from third on the grid, the Volland Racing star assumed a lead he would not subsequently surrender to top the times by the margin of 1.430secs.

The next morning, Geleyns found himself muscled out on the opening lap of heat three, restricting him to a frustrated eighth position, and matters did not greatly improve in heat four, when traffic meant he could manage no better than seventh. That left him sixth in the intermediate standings, albeit just two points shy of a spot inside the top three.

While a strong start in his semi-final came to nought as the two drivers ahead boxed him in on the blast to Turn One, the Antiguan emerged from the initial exchanges in second, going on to undercut weekend-long nemesis Sámuel Kovács in the joker to ultimately secure a comfortable win – and with it, a front row berth for the all-important final.

With grip at a premium on what was by then a damp and slippery circuit following the onset of rain, Geleyns seemed set to lose out on the outside line into Turn Two, but by dint of neatly avoiding contact directly ahead, he succeeded in holding onto his starting position, behind fellow Audi A1 ace João Ribeiro.

Thereafter, the talented teenager kept the championship leader honest throughout, posting the race’s fastest lap for good measure as he shadowed Ribeiro to the chequered flag, a scant six-tenths-of-a-second in his rival’s wake. 

The result represented the second rostrum finish of Geleyns’ increasingly impressive sophomore season in the series. As he continues to break through on the international scene, the 19-year-old has climbed to third in the title table, with a genuine shot of snatching the runner-up spoils in the Turkish finale next month (20-21 September).

“I wasn’t expecting to leave Finland with another podium,” Geleyns candidly acknowledged. “Saturday started off tough and Sunday didn’t begin as planned, either. I think where I struggled the most was on the dirt sections, where there was very low grip. There was only one heat that I was really happy with – the other three were pretty bad – but we found our form again when it mattered. 

“The semi-final went well, with a combination of good pace and a good joker strategy securing us the win. We got off to a rough start in the final; I was being pushed from behind and then saw a car spin off into the tyres, but I didn’t let myself get too distracted by that and tried to keep everything clean and avoid any mistakes or too much contact.

“So while it was a tough weekend to begin with, by the end, I had a big smile on my face. Big thanks to my team and the crowd for their amazing support. What an incredible result. I’m so happy!”