|
 |
| August 04, 2008 |
| Rotax Euro Challenge - Round Three Report |
| |
 | Senior podium
(Photo: RGMMC-Alex Schelbert) |
Round 3 of the Rotax Euro Challenge has been run and won for the first time in the Czech Republic over the weekend, following the introduction of the new venue into the series and has been praised by competitors as a fantastic event. The Autodrom Česká Lípa, Sosnova proved to be an ideal location for the international championship, with 160 drivers and their teams enjoying what was described as a definite winner by the organisers RGMMC Establishment. The racing was fast and very competitive. Adding to the summer spirit and welcoming the new hosts, RGMMC also threw a huge Grill Party Friday for all the competitors and their guests with lots of local tasty delights, some good wine and music.
Senior Max
Defending European champion Ben Cooper (44.519) set the quickest lap in the final group in the class of 76 drivers. He was fast in both the wet and dry sessions in the two days leading up to official timed practice, edging out the current series leader Chris Lock by 2-tenths. “I am happy to be on pole; the kart feels really, really good and it’s fast. I thought I could take pole and hopefully it gives me the results in the racing that I need for the points in the championship. It’s going to be close.”
The polesitter was unbeatable in all four of his qualifying heats Saturday, giving him P1on the grid for the pre-final. Lining up with Cooper on the front row was Lock, who’d won three heats, including one when New Zealand’s Josh Hart received a 10-second start penalty, reducing his own tally to two race wins. The remaining heat was won by Tom Fawcett. The best lap in the heats was again set by Cooper.
Unlike the previous round in Germany, the senior pre-final was without major incident or even as much as a driving standards flag being shown. Cooper took the lead and held it for the entire 15 laps, also clocking the best overall lap (44.341) of the meeting to win the race by just over three seconds. Minor places changed behind him, as the frontrunners diced frantically, but in the process let the young Brit get away. Lock kept a considerable gap over eventual third-placed driver Luke Caudle, who passed Fawcett when he ran wide several laps into the race. 4th was claimed by Joey Van Splunteren, as Hart dropped out of contention in the early stages.
The Final had a little more action, which could have been expected with the series able to be won at the Czech round. The start went with Cooper once more as Lock was unable to move inside on the first corner and found himself back in 3rd chasing Caudle. James Bean off grid 9 had a coming together with Fawcett in 5th, who had slowed as he continued to circulate on track, until suddenly being hit by another kart. He sustained a wrist injury so officials signalled a full restart, however Bean was later handed a fine for his part in the initial incident. There was a slight delay before the final got underway once more.
The start went Coopers’ but way Lock took a different line and slotted into 2nd ahead of Caudle and Hart. On lap 3, he had a shot at the lead and it was Cooper on his rear bumper for the first time over the weekend. Bean had pushed his way through into the top 5 as the laps unfolded, making the fight for 3rd and beyond a close one, heading a reasonably bunched field. Just over halfway and Bean looks to pass Caudle for a place on the podium but he holds his line. Eventually Bean steals 3rd, followed shortly after by Van Splunteren and Hart passing Caudle as well, who didn’t have their pace in the final.
With only minutes remaining, Cooper set his fastest lap as he moved up on Lock, who kept glancing over his shoulder and consequently also then did his best time just two laps from the end. It was a case of one covering and one taking the shortest way around the track. Cooper pushed hard as they approached the finish line, but it was Lock’s victory for the second round in a row. His hope of sealing the championship on the day disappeared, but the 21-year old still maintains a narrow lead over Cooper in the points going into the series decider in Belgium this September.
 | Junior podium
(Photo: RGMMC-Alex Schelbert) |
Junior Max
The current junior Rotax World number one was the driver to beat from the beginning of official timed practice in Junior Max. Kevin Korjus was on the track early in his qualifying session Friday and immediately followed with his fastest time (45.802) on the next lap. “In the last free practice session this morning I was fastest, even though some of the drivers had new tyres so I was sure I could be pole. I hope that I can do better in the racing now to find a consistently good time. There’s still room for me to improve my driving skill here and the kart set-up some more.”
It was Toni Alarcon who would take pole position for the pre-final following the qualifying heats Saturday, although he was the winner in only one race, he had two 2nd places and enough points. Simone Favaro would join the Spanish driver on P2, with two wins. Korjus also won two from three of his races, but made a mistake while leading the third and finished further down the order, so he would start from grid 7. Looking to repeat his round 1 victory in France, Axcil Jefferies took race honours in one heat with a 2nd place, however a DNF in the opening heat ended his chances of a better pre-final start position.
Sunday’s pre-final began with a great battle in the opening laps. Jefferies connected with another kart on the start/finish straight during the formation lap, luckily regaining his position before the race began. As the lights turned green, polesitter Alarcon led from Eduardo Moreira but was overcome on lap two by the second round winner Ryuuya Fujie. It almost appeared as if Fujie coming from row three would run away with the race, before Korjus cut in to assume the lead on the fifth lap. He was the only driver under the 46-second mark until the closing stages of the race and set the best lap. Fellow Estonian Raigo Jegorov was warned by officials after the start to watch his driving style, which he did to hold onto 3rd ahead of Russia’s Artem Markelov, who’d passed Alarcon through the tricky chicane. Korjus extended his lead over Fujie to 3.7 seconds by the race end.
The temperature had risen to low 30s by the afternoon, so the 14-lap final was going to be a long race on the 1075m Autodrom circuit. Korjus was quick to take the lead as Fujie tailed. Having saved his new tyres for the final, Alarcon was picking up speed and making strong ground with each lap. At half race distance he took first, leaving Korjus to work hard so as to keep 2nd from Fujie. The Japanese driver was really pushing to make every attempt to catch him. The battle for top 10 positions turned on some excellent racing, as Aavo Talvar, Sean Frost and Josh Webster diced behind the first five karts, staying ahead of some of the drivers who were frontrunners in the heat races.
Alarcon broke into the 45 seconds laptime, unlike any of the other juniors in the final and took the chequered flag. He’d been quick at both the previous rounds this year but always suffered some bad luck when it came to the finals. The gap to Korjus was 1.5, as Fujie still tried to gain 2nd across the line. Jegorov was a close 4th then Markelov 5th. Last year’s Genk winner Korjus now sits at the top of the series points alone, after team-mate Peter Hoevenaars who was sharing the championship lead could only manage a 10th. The title is still up for grabs in the final round at Genk, so it will be great racing.
 | Masters podium
(Photo: RGMMC-Alex Schelbert) |
Rotax Max Masters
With local knowledge on his side, Radim Feber set out to be the Max Masters’ fastest qualifier (45.448) and achieved his first objective for the meeting over former World and Euro champion Cristiano Morgado. “Many of the people following the Euro Challenge in the Czech Republic expected me to do well at this round seeing that I am very familiar with the circuit, so this added extra pressure to perform. I believe we can win this round and for me and my team, it’s important.”
The Masters pre-final didn’t go the local favourite’s way however, as he was met with a challenge by Morgado. This is where the racecraft experience shows in the 27years+ class, that often provides some pretty intense duals in the series. At each round it’s been a different winner who’s claimed the prize. In the early laps, the polesitter was relegated to 2nd and Morgado then also set the best lap of the session at half-race distance. Starting from grid 3, round 2 winner Jerome Bourquard was sitting in 3rd.
Defending Masters’ champ and current World number one Colin Davis was leading the chase followed closely by John Van Wyk and Werner Henz, who were evenly matched in time and eventually pulled a gap from the next group. Only three laps remaining and Feber moved up to sit on the rear bumper of Morgado’s kart, going for the lead on the last lap but immediately losing it as quickly. Morgado won the race by a narrow margin to Feber, to Davis. Bourquard had a disappointing finish to come in ROF.
After Morgado’s withdrawal from the finals at the prior round in Wackersdorf due to an accident in the DD2 class, he was planning to make amends for missing out on the points for the championship. He took the led through the first corner in the final, with Davis and Feber in 2nd and 3rd; who had also both opted to save their new MOJO tyres for the last race. A lap later it was Feber in 2nd as Van Wyk, Mark Thompson and Bourquard came into the picture. With nothing between the first three, Feber grabbed the lead from Morgado – bringing a cheer from his many fans in the impressive undercover grandstands. He increased the gap and on lap 5 clocked a flying lap that almost saw him break into the 44-second times.
Davis still 3rd started to apply some pressure to Morgado, with Bourquard driving his way to 4th from the back and Milan Mach up to 5th. The Czech flags began waving in the crowd for Feber on every lap as the race drew to a close, with Morgado in sight but not able to wear down the leader after he’d broken free of Davis. It was a jubilant 36-year old that crossed the finish line, punching the air then bowing his head as he passed by the applauding spectators. It was Feber’s best personal result since he began Karting in the Czech Republic at 13 years of age. In 4th place, Bourquard revived his championship hopes but with Davis at the top, it now all hangs on the last round, as it did the year before. British driver Mach took 5th.
 | DD2 Podium
(Photo: RGMMC-Alex Schelbert) |
Rotax DD2
Denis Thum and Carsten Muller were the two German drivers who set the best lap in their groups of their official timed practice session in the 2-speed DD2 class. It was Thum however who narrowly secured the top of the leader board (44.474) guaranteeing him P1 for each of the following three heats. “I was quick for both days practice and should be able to win. This is the first time I’ve been to this track and I like it; the kart is going really good and I’m fast. It’s important that I get the most points for the championship at this round and I’m really focused on that.”
Each of his qualifying races went all Thum’s way, getting a good start and maintaining the lead. Like Cooper in Senior Max, he cruised through to P1 for the Pre-final Sunday. To many people’s surprise, Poulter had only qualified 5th, so he was on the front row with Thum in all three of these heats and every time finished 2nd. Muller took the win in one heat and with his other results, would start next to Thum in the first of the finals. The other races went to former Euro DD2 driver Toms Bobrovskis and James Ryan from the strong South African line-up.
In a brilliant move, Muller took the lead from Thum at the start of the pre-final, but was unable to keep it. Poulter followed Thum through as he overtook the early leader. The “slow” boards and waving yellow flags were brought out after Robert Gilmour hit the tyre barrier on the next lap, bringing the field into single file. Several laps later they were back to normal racing pace and the two frontrunners broke away from the others, as Bobrovskis and Ryan pursued their own fight for 4th a short distance behind Muller. Dominik Kraihamer in 6th place was slightly faster than the three in front of him but found no opportunity to pass. Thum took a comfortable 1st ahead of Poulter, then Muller 3rd. A technical infringement saw Bobrovskis excluded, therefore giving Kraihamer 5th ahead of Ryan.
In a virtual replay of the final from round 2, Thum led from the lights shadowed by Poulter and Kraihamer, in what was a much closer race at the front than the morning final. Muller was under siege from 16-year old Ian Young who had upstaged his fellow countryman Poulter by qualifying 3rd Friday, together with Poland’s Seweryn Szczepanik right behind the leading trio. Poulter was all over Thum and on the third lap snatched the lead, just to have Thum try to regain it but couldn’t. Kraihamer dropped off the two in front, while the drivers behind him looking for minor places shuffled. Muller retired unable to continue, while Patrick Pearce and Dennis Ladefoged had made their way through to threaten Young in 4th.
It was nose-to-tail, single file racing for most of the remaining laps to the back of the field and no room for error, though the positions for the top 10 alternated constantly. At the front Poulter held Thum out by half a second when the 17 laps had expired, to be the only driver to secure the 2008 European title at the Sosnova event. Thum was clearly pleased to have finished right behind him and later admitted he just couldn’t run him down. 3rd place gave Kraihamer his second podium in as many rounds, then came Young and Danish champ Ladefoged 5th.
Senior Max – Chris Lock
“I’m pleased to have won the third round in the Czech Republic as I’m now in a great position for the championship going into the final round. We’ll be doing as much testing as we can fit in to ensure we’re prepared to win in Genk. In the final I just went out to drive a consistent race, knowing how fast Ben Cooper had been all weekend and try to get close to him in the early laps. The red flag helped me and the restart was better. It was a hard race and I knew I had to pass Cooper early and took a late move into turn one, then just concentrated on pushing. I always knew how close Ben was and that I had the speed in the right areas to stop him overtaking me as long as I made no mistakes. It seemed a long race and I was relieved to go over the line for the win. I’m fairly pleased with my results in the first year in the series as I’ve been in the top two in every final except one. I’d like to thank all at RL Race Team for their support, the team at Ogden for great engines, support from Strawberry Racing for Tony Kart and Tillet Racing seats.”
Junior Max – Toni Alarcon
“It was a very good race for me. I started 5th with new tyres and moved into 4th. I was very fast and soon got passed 3rd and 2nd place but then had to try to overtake [Kevin] Korjus. I got him but it was difficult to pass him because he is a very good driver and knows how to drive the corners well. I thought that I could win in the final because everything was right. The Sodi Kart was excellent! Many thanks to Mira Motorsport and my mechanic, Balearia and Sodi.”
Rotax Max Masters – Radim Feber
“It was great to win and what we planned coming into the meeting, we’re satisfied with today. We ran the old tyres in the pre-final after scrubbing them-in in the morning warm-up and were happy with 2nd. It was our race tactic to have an advantage for the final. To win on our home track helps promote us even more in the Czech Republic .Having my own team, I came to the Euro Challenge to see what we needed to do to be competitive in the championship, so that next year we are able to bring drivers who want to race internationally. The series is very well organised and now people will better recognise the Euro Challenge here as a great event. I’ve really tried to give 100% in the championship to get the best out of it myself personally. It was hard for us in Wackersdorf because we had some other problems that we’ve now sorted out plus it was a new circuit I’d never raced on before, where here is my home track.”
Rotax DD2 – Leeroy Poulter
“Regarding the race meeting, I think it ended well. Denis was very quick this weekend and I knew if I was 2nd that we were still good for the championship. We decided to use the old tyres for the pre-final which was the best move. In the final I came into 2nd in the first corner and realised we had the pace to win. Denis seemed a bit slower in the pre-final so I was confident that we had the chance. We ran some new chassis’ this weekend that Birel developed and it took us a while to get used to them. Now I have qualified for the Rotax Grand Finals in La Conca, we’ll actually race there in Italy at the KF2 World Cup the week before the last round of the Euro Challenge in Genk. I must thank the team – Kalman Motorsport, Ronni Sala from Birel and Neil my mechanic.”
All the action of Sunday’s racing and podium was live on internet TV at http://www.massive-mag.tv and will be online as streaming video within the next week. Simply click on “Archives” and go to “Kart Racing”. The complete championship points table can be found by going to “Round 3 – Sosnova” and then “Results” on the official homepage of the Euro Challenge at http://www.rgmmc.com. Follow the “Kart Data Timing Live” link to see the results from every session of the event beginning from Friday’s practice. |
|
|
Go Top
|
|
|
|
|
