25th July 2011

A good deal for Albon in World Championships - from the CIK-FIA

Alex Albon on his way to victory in round two of the World Karting Championship. Pic: CIK-KSP

For its second rendezvous, the KF1 World Championship retained its surprises on the Spanish Zuera circuit. Unbeaten in the four races in Germany; it looked as though the Dutchman Nyck De Vries (Zanardi-Parilla) was out to repeat his performance.

Having clinched pole position and dominated during the first leg, the reigning world champion was however betrayed by mechanical problems– the engine refusing to fire up – at the start of the second round. If on the one hand his climb-up through the pack into fourth place was impressive, it unfortunately came to nothing. Having received the assistance of a mechanic in an unauthorised zone, the Dutchman found himself excluded. This Sunday he was fully determined to have his revenge, and in fact grabbed another pole position. But it was on the books that this Spanish weekend would not be one for the young Dutchman. At the start of the first of two races scheduled this Sunday, Nyck once again saw history repeating itself when his engine refused to start. Staring out behind all his rivals he climbed back up into 7th place, which was to be his position also on the grid for the final confrontation. However this time around it was jostling at the beginning of the race which sent him to the back of the pack. Undeniably the fastest on the track, De Vries once again gave all the spectators another grand show with his overtaking prowess to finally grab the lowest tread of the podium. A meagre consolation as compared to his level of performance over the entire weekend..… But it allowed him to retain his lead in the championship.

The misfortunes of some can be to the advantage of others, and the Brit Alex Albon (Intrepid-TM) took full advantage to get back into the swing of things following a difficult first round. Having won on Saturday the British driver did it again on Sunday and is by far the one who scored the most points over the entire weekend, allowing him to climb up into third place in the championship rankings. The other driver who performed well is Ignazio D’Agosto (Tony Kart-Vortex). Even though he did not win, the Italian was up on the podium no less than three times, of which twice on the second tread on Sunday. This now makes him heir apparent to De Vries in the provisional rankings, with every intention of clinching a victory very shortly.

When it comes to victory, it was also on the books for Yu Kanamaru (Tony Kart-Vortex) this weekend. Leading his team mates Ignazio D’Agosto and Flavio Camponeschi in the first race on Sunday, Yu ensured that the Japanese anthem resounded in the sky above Zuera.

Amongst the unfortunate ones this Sunday we must mention Karol Basz (RK-BMB), second in the provisional rankings prior to this Spanish meeting. Notwithstanding precious points scored on Saturday with a 4th and 3rd place, an accident on Sunday cost the Polish driver dearly … He now finds himself at the base of the provisional ranking, but only 4 lengths down from second place. The following race, scheduled in Genk during the first weekend of September should be pretty exciting!

European KF2 Championship: Sami Luka inherits the crown

2011 European KF2 Champion Sami Luka. Pic: CIK-FIA

Held on the Spanish Zuera circuit, the final of the European KF2 championship was full of suspense and rebounds. With one single decisive final to award the European crown, tension was running high at the start. Having clinched pole position thanks to his success in the Pre-Final, did Tanart Sathienthirakul (Tony Kart-TM) handle this tension badly? The young Thai (competing with an Irish licence) in fact exceeded the maximum authorised speed during the start, and received a 10 seconds penalty putting him way back into 10th place. Having fought his way up during several laps to rid himself of the pack, the Belgian Sami Luka (Energy-TM) was up in the wake of the Thai driver and finally grabbed the title, which he had been running after for several seasons.

On the second tread of the podium, the Spaniard Carlos Gil (Tony Kart-Vortex) was almost as happy as if he had won. On a track which he knows like the back of his hand, Carlos also continued the family tradition. Back in 1991, in fact exactly 20 years ago, his father – with the same first name – also became European Vice-Champion in the same category (known as ICA, in those days)…

The podium was completed by the Danish driver Andreas Hanssen (Maranello-Maranello), who drove an excellent race which saw him go from 31st place on the grid – as the result of a broken engine in the Pre-Final – up to an incredible 3rd place when he took the chequered flag. Further down we have the Top 10 with the British driver Sam Macleod (FA Kart-Vortex), the Italian Antonio Giovinazzi (PCR-Parilla), the Spaniard Gerard Barrabeig (Birel-BMB), the Russian Egor Orudshev (Tony Kart-Vortex), the Frenchman Victor Sendin (Tony Kart-Vortex) and the unfortunate Tanart Sathienthirakul.

European KF3 Championship: George Russel in style

2011 European KF3 Champion George Russel. Pic: CIK-FIA

There was hardly any suspense when it comes to victory in Zuera during the Final of the European KF3 Championship (the Juniors class). Second in the Pre-Final, George Russel (Intrepid-TM) had a brilliant start from the front row and … immediately escaped from the others. Behind, the young Englishman’s rivals were losing ground on the leaders and were fighting it out tooth and nail … some not coming out of it unscathed. This was notably the case for the young Frenchman Dorian Boccolacci (Birel-BMB), winner of the Pre-Final, but excluded from the battle for victory following a race incident at the beginning of the race which sent him back in the rankings. His climb back up from 24th to 10th place, punctuated by a best lap time, could hardly console him …

Behind the inaccessible, the Swede Robin Hansson (Energy-TM) came out on top of his duel with the Brit Connor Jupp (FA Kart-Vortex) to clinch the silver medal. With Harrison Scott (Intrepid-TM), the Brits managed to slot three of theirs amongst the first four. In 5th place, Alessio Piccini, performed well for a first outing which must have delighted his father, Alessandro, four times World Championship in the 125cc class with gearbox between 1987 and 1993. Having shown their support for their country with a one minute silence on Saturday, the Norwegians Oystein Helgheim (Parolin-TM) and Dennis Olsen (Energy-TM) just missed out on the top 5, but headed off the Italian Simone Cunati (Top Kart-TM), the Frenchman Esteban Ocon (FA Kart-Vortex) and Dorian Boccolacci.