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| July 26, 2010 |
| CIK-FIA ‘U18’ World Championship Wackersdorf Report |
| Article by: cikfia.com |
 | Jake Dennis
(Photo: cikfia.com) |
The CIK-FIA “U18” World Championship which got of the ground this week-end on the German circuit “Prokart Raceland” at Wackersdorf has largely reached all expactations. The drivers, all below 18 years of age, have delivered a magnificient spectacle throughout the whole week-end and have proved that this formula – based on minimum cost and level-playing field for all entrants – promises an exciting future.
After the qualifying practices and heats, the 34 drivers who qualified for the Final phase have contested 2 prefinals, of which the second one, for the first time in a CIK-FIA World Championship, had a totally reversed grid. After these two races, it was the Austrian Julian Wagner (Mach 1) who gained pole position. But all the drivers knew perfectly well that only the Final would count for Championship points in this new “Under 18” World Championship.
First leader, the Finn Matias Köykkä (Maranello) gave up the le ad to Simone Favaro (Parolin). But the Italian was excluded after several laps for having caused an avoidable accident at the start. So, the young British driver Jake Dennis (Top Kart) inherited the lead and never looked back. Coached by former World Champion Terry Fullerton (1973) and supported by Racing Step Foundation, which helps talented young drivers with limited finances, the Englishman confirmed the faith put in him. “That’s a great feeling to be leading a World Championship standing”, acknowledged Jake. “This concept in which you put the talent first is really good. As a result, I’m so happy to be the winner.”
Runner-up in the Final, Finland’s Mattias Köykkä was also upbeat. “It’s difficult to find big sponsors in Finland”, he explained. “So, a World Championship which limited cost like this one is a really excellent opportunity to grasp.” The Finnish challenge was even more successful with 3rd place going to Teemu Suninen (Maranello). Other drivers catching the eye in the top 5 included Irishman John Norris (Intrepid) and yet another Finn, Ville Mäntylä (Energy), but also notable was 4 different chassis makes in the top 5 finishers. Sixth, Vincent Fraisse (Intrepid) finished in front of Julian Wagner (Mach 1), Spaniard Victor Colome (Intrepid), and Northern-Irishman Adam Strirling (Intrepid) and Austrian Stefan Riener (Intrepid).
 | Antoine Hubert
(Photo: cikfia.com) |
Supporting the “U18” World Championship, the CIK-FIA Academy Trophy tracked 32 drivers as different nationalities, all representing their own national federation. As a result, we had drivers from 4 different continents but it was the European who were always the front-runners. In this competition where all the drivers were provided with identical Parolin chassis and FIM motors, it really was only the talent of the driver which made the difference.
In this context, French lad Antoine Hubert made a great impression by winning two close races. Selected by the French Fedération at the end of a two-day selection process, Antoine had twice finished in front of the Estonian Hans Villemi, the fastest timed in the qualifying practice in the rain. Third in the first race, the driver from Monaco Charles Leclerc fell away as a result of a technical problem during the second race. This was to the advantage of Finland’s Niklas Tiihonen, on the podium for the second race and in the championship. Finishing 4th twice, English lad Roy Johnson was always in the ficth of the action and will be a serious contender at the end of August during the next round. The same applies to the Dutchman Max Koebolt, Charles Leclerc, currently 6th in the championship, German Michael Waldherr, the Swede Hannes Nillsson, the driver from Luxemburg Olivier Thill and Russian Vsevolod Gagen, completing the top 10 after the two races in Germany.
The next round is set for the Spanish circuit at Alcaniz from 27th to 29th of August, before the final round at Val d’Argenteon, in France (1st to 3rd of October). We already have a taste of things to come in these two passionately fought competitions.
Information, pictures and live results on cikfia.com --> http://www.cikfia.com/News2010/wackersdorf_u18.htm |
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