ROTAX Winter Cup sets new benchmarks for 2013………..
A total of 26 nations took part in the Rotax Winter Cup (Pic: RGMMC)
“We are delighted with the response to this event which grows in status every season. This year we limited each grid to 34 drivers so every driver could qualify, some teams had driven over 4000 km to be with us, the least we could do is make sure all drivers got plenty of track action,” said Roland Geidel, CEO of RGMMC.
A total of 26 nations took part with Morocco making its debut into this Rotax International arena. The event also saw many new drivers attending to get a taste of the competition they can expect in the ROTAX Euro Challenge.
“This event not only gives the drivers the opportunity to test in perfect weather conditions inside Europe, it also gives us, as organiser, the opportunity to test new equipment we’ve been working on over the winter.”
For the first time RGMMC covered some of Saturday’s heats and Sunday’s finals from their very own television production company which broadcasted live in to the homes of just under 8000 viewers worldwide. An all new race control system, replacing the onboard cameras was also tried and tested. This completely new development not only guaranteed fair sportsmanship for all participants throughout the event, it also allowed the Judges of Fact to handle issues quicker and more efficiently while the race was still running giving the Clerk’s of the Course a faster response time.
Last but not least, the organisers invested in further safety measures with a brand new lighting system named 4FLAG which was installed around the 1.588 metre track to increase safety for drivers and marshals alike.
As for the competition, the event proved to be a real trial of strength between the world’s most successful ROTAX drivers from the ROTAX Grand Finals or title holders from the ROTAX Euro Challenge. Ambition was at an all time high as the drivers were not only driving in order to prepare for the racing season, but for the 35.000€ on offer in fully or partially funded places in the 10th anniversary year of the ROTAX Euro Challenge.
MAX Junior: Sakaguchi , Price and Hall the first pacemakers of the season
In the junior category it was Japan’s Sena Sakaguchi from the newly formed Intrepid Driver Program setting the pace by taking best time in the official qualifying session on Friday. “It’s the third time I have raced in Europe. I am really happy with this result although we did expect a top position after our good results in free practice,” said Sakaguchi
Unfortunately, not all went according to plan for the Japanese driver who had trouble defending his pole position throughout the qualifying races. It was actually Josh Price from the UK racing with Chris Rogers Motorsport who performed best by taking two wins and a second from his three heats. This put the youngster on pole for Sunday’s pre final. He shared the front row with Sakaguchi who won his last heat of the qualifying day.
On Sunday, pole sitter Josh Price from the UK had a pretty easy job defending his position in the pre final. Sena Sakaguchi experienced a bad start allowing Price to take the win ahead of Connor Hall (UK) racing for Strawberry Racing and Lars Lamborelle (NL) from DFK. At the end of day Sakaguchi had to settle for position 6 in the final.
In the final Josh Price saw all his hopes of a podium place disappear, the young driver from the UK collided in the very first lap relegating him to the back of the grid. Guan Yu Zhou with Connor Hall both racing with Strawberry and Thomas Preining from Austria racing with Formula K UK were the ones fighting for the win. At the chequered flag it was Hall who crossed the finish line first in front of his team mate Zhou with Preining taking third.
“I’m really happy. Last year we ranked second at the Winter Cup so the aim was to improve the result and win. We are now going to the Euro Challenge and I intend to finish in the same position,” Hall said during the prize giving ceremony.
MAX Senior: Webb 2012 Junior Grand Final & Euro Challenge winner celebrates senior debut
The most open competition was reserved for the senior category. Qualifying practice was a walkover for UK’s James Singleton racing for Coles Racing posting the quickest time on Friday. “We hoped for a top five result, so this is even better. I would like to repeat this result tomorrow,” said the Tonykart driver being totally aware of the challenging races to come.
Singleton faced tough competition in defending his top position in the qualifying heats. Harry Webb making his debut in the senior class was in great form winning one heat. Luck certainly wasn’t with him in the second heat when he retired due to mechanical problems leaving the win for Singleton. Clearly Webb had sorted out his problems and came back in the final heat of the day taking a second win. In the final overall classification Webb started the pre final from position 6. Man on pole was Singleton with one win and two third places.
No less than 10 drivers were in the running for a victory in the pre final, showing the high level of competition in this class and giving spectators a thrilling show. The lead changed almost on every lap between Singleton, Webb and 2012 Winter Cup winner Harrison Scott also from Strawberry Racing. On the final leg the 2012 European vice champion Ed Brand racing for the Intrepid Driver Program closed the gap with the top four and mixed up some positions. At the chequered flag Scott took the win ahead of Brand, Webb and Singleton an all British line up.
While the pre final was full of tension, the final focused on a nail biting duel. The Strawberry pilots, Scott and Webb completely dominated the final, both were able to leave behind the rest of the grid and provide the crowd with a spectacular show. With some breath taking manoeuvres which we can only imagine had their team boss looking through his fingers it was Webb who took top position at the chequered flag from his team mate Scott behind and Hughes racing for AMT taking third. Harrison Scott now leaves karting to concentrate on the next step of his motorsport career in Formula Ford.
After the podium elated Harry Webb gave some positive words. “It was my very first senior race and it’s good to know that we have made the step up to seniors without any problems. We did a lot of testing before which really paid off. For the Euro Challenge I have only one target, The Win!”
MAX DD2: Babington fast but de Ruwe even faster
In this first test of strength between the DD2 drivers, the reigning Senior Euro Challenge Champion, Sean Babington racing with Dan Holland Racing was quickest on track, demonstrating that he is ready to take the challenge in DD2 as well. “This weekend is my very first start in DD2. It is really working well so far and I hope to keep it up,” Babington said on Friday evening after qualifying.
The FA driver was the domineering man on Saturday too. He was unbeatable in the heats, winning all three of his races giving him pole for Sunday’s pre final.
In the pre final the favourite found an equal opponent. This was none other than the titleholder of the Winter Cup, Xen de Ruwe from Belgium racing for the FK Racing Team. The driver from Belgium was unable to set a time in qualifying practice due to an issue with his radiator which meant him starting all his heats from the back of the grid. He fought his way back through the heats to gain position 6 on the grid for the pre final. After this de Ruwe didn’t make any mistakes and closed up to Babington who was in the lead. It only took a few more laps for de Ruwe to take the lead and the win. Meanwhile Babington lost his second place to Switzerland’s Kevin Ludi from Spirit Racing who had started his pre final from seventh place.
In the final de Ruwe made a bad start which took him back to fourth place, however, this didn’t deter him one bit and he quickly recovered passing one opponent after another, half way through the race he had regained first position. From then on he managed to bring home a victory just ahead of Babington and Shaun Slavin from the Intrepid Driver Program.
“Of course, the weekend could not have started more badly, we were in last position after the qualifying. There was a lot of work to do in the heats, but I enjoy races like this a lot. For the finals we knew that our speed was good enough to succeed. I drove with my head and finally our efforts were rewarded,” said de Ruwe summing up his weekend.
In the special classification for DD2 Masters it was Igor Mukhin from Russia driving for the Intrepid Driver Program who set the pace. Only in the qualifying session he had to defer to the Frenchman Marc Berteaux from MGT. But after the heats and finals it was Mukhin who took the victory.“What a great start to the season, the competition becomes harder and harder which makes me look forward to the Euro Challenge a lot.”
Summing up one can congratulate the RGMMC Team for a most professional event again which really does set new benchmarks in many fields. The effective new race control proved its worth just like the 4FLAG system, increasing the safety for drivers and marshals. The debut of live TV coverage surely was the highlight of the weekend.
RGMMC is looking forward to a great season which sees the ROTAX Euro Challenge celebrate its 10th anniversary. The first race of the Euro will take place in Genk, Belgium 27 – 31 March.
So stay tuned on www.rotaxmaxeurochallenge.com or www.rgmmcmedia.com
TO THE MEDIA: IF YOU NEED MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE RACES OR RESULTS PLEASE HAVE A LOOK AT WWW.ROTAXMAXEUROCHALLENGE.COM OR CONTACT US BY INFO@RGMMC.COM
Juniors:
1st Connor Hall (UK) Strawberry Racing
2nd Guan Yu Zhou (UK) Strawberry Racing
3rd Thomas Preining (A) Formula K UK
Seniors:
1st Harry Webb (UK) Strawberry Racing
2nd Harrison Scott (UK) Strawberry Racing
3rd Luke Hughes (UK) AMT Racing
DD2:
1st Xen de Ruwe (B) FK Racing Team
2nd Sean Babington (UK) Dan Holland Racing
3rd Shaun Slavin (UK) Intrepid Driver Program
DD2 Master:
1st Igor Mukhin (RUS) Intrepid Driver Program
2nd Florent Lambert (UK) Tatum Racing
3rd Marc Berteaux (F) MGT
