Karting is a difficult discipline, both from a driving and technical
point of view, but it becomes even more complex when it reaches
international level. Good results are never easy to achieve, but
repeating positive results is even more challenging. In Spain, at the
third round of the WSK Euro Series, Beitske Visser overcame the
difficulties inherent in this sport to climb on the podium again. The
rest of the season can be seen in a more optimistic light now...

After stopping at the two Italian circuits of Muro Leccese and Lonato
in March, the WSK Euro Series moved to Spain, near Saragossa. The
Zuera track has been tailor made for the 125cc gearbox karts that
Beitske Visser drives this season in the KZ2 category. "Here we reach
very high speeds, it is really cool. There are several parts where you
can overtake and my equipment is working better and better. Free
practice went fine, I feel confident about the race", the fast Dutch
girl commented.

Official competition started with timed qualifying. Beitske was fourth
in her category. According to the programme, each driver has to go
through two qualifying heats and drivers are not willing to show
generosity within the pack. At the wheel of her Intrepid-TM, she was
not intimidated and took advantage of the situation to set some
excellent lap times. "I love it when the track gets covered with
rubber deposits and grip increases more and more during the race".

Unfortunately, this situation changed on Sunday, after rain fell on
part of Spain. "We had to start from zero with adjustments", Beitske
pointed out. "But it takes more than that to discourage me, so I
started the final phase armed to the teeth. I felt my performance was
going better lap after lap and I even gained one place". In addition
to that, the KZ2 category is integrated with the KZ1 pack, which
gathers the most experienced kart drivers at international level.
"Making your own race while fighting against more experienced drivers
is highly motivating".

In the final race, Beitske Visser distinguished herself on the two
scoreboards: second in the final race in KZ2 and in the top 10 in the
overall standings. "For the time being, Italian De Conto is my
reference point in the category. He has won again this time, but I
keep getting closer to him. I even managed to drive faster than him in
the final race and my goal is to beat him soon. I am really determined
to do that".

She is definitely one of the most well-known girls in international
karting, propelled to second place in the championship now that three
out of five WSK Euro Series rounds have already taken place.

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Avec deux représentantes de choc à la WSK Euro Series, de plus fidèles
de la Fondation Julie Tonelli pour l'Enfance, le karting féminin se
porte bien en cette saison 2010. La Danoise, Michelle Gatting
(CRG/Maxter) progresse au classement de la KF2 grâce à sa victoire en
préfinale et sa 3ème place en finale, ce qui permet de la voir enfin
monter sur le podium et d'occuper la 3ème position du championnat. La
Hollandaise Beitske Visser (Intrepid/TM), habituée des podiums, n'en
finit plus de briller en KZ2, catégorie où elle consolide sa 2ème
place du classement.

Mais que va-t-il rester aux hommes ?

Pas d'inquiétude, avec 5 catégories différentes et donc 5 classements
distincts, la WSK Euro Series laisse de la place pour tout le monde.
Par exemple, Anthony Abbasse (Sodi/TM) et Jérémy Iglesias
(Intrepid/TM) confirment leur excellent niveau de performance en KZ1,
la catégorie de pointe des 125 à boîte de vitesses en se maintenant
dans le peloton de tête, respectivement au 3ème et 4ème rang de la
compétition. Peter Hoevanaars (Intrepid/TM), un peu moins rapide qu'à
son habitude durant ce week-end espagnol, reste malgré tout dans le
top 3 de la KF3.

Comme toujours la compétition apporte son lot de satisfactions et de
déceptions, c'est la règle du jeu. Au rang des bonnes nouvelles,
Victor Sendin (Tony Kart/Vortex) fait son entrée au classement du
championnat KF2 après une série noire lors de deux premières épreuves.
Qualifié de justesse à la 34ème place, Victor remonte magnifiquement
au 15ème rang de la préfinale. Loïc Réguillon (Intrepid/TM) 12ème,
Clément Bluy (Tony Kart/Vortex) 16ème et Vincent Fraïsse (Intrepid/TM)
22ème, récupèrent des points importants et progressent de 5 places
chacun au championnat.

Chez les jeunes de la KF3, Valentin Moineault (DR/Parilla) rentre pour
la 1ère fois dans le classement à la suite de ses performances
régulières. Mikko Pakari (Maranello/Maranello) s'installe dans le top
10 de cette catégorie avec de jolis coups d'éclats (2ème puis 3ème en
manche, 5ème de la préfinale) et Kevin Rossel (Tony Kart/Vortex)
reprend 9 places dans la finale. Théodore Zammit (PCR/Maxter)
s'intègre de mieux en mieux au plateau KZ2 et progresse d'une place au
classement.

Les choses ne s'arrangent pas en Super KF pour le champion italien
Davide Fore' (CRG/Maxter) qui souhaiterait sans doute une mécanique un
peu plus véloce pour se classer au rang qu'il mérite. En KF2, David Da
Luz (Zanardi/Parilla) et Sébastien Bailly (Sodi/Parilla) sont dans des
situations similaires. Bien revenu du repêchage KZ2, Roman Krist
(Intrepid/VM) renonce en finale.

Week-end difficile en KF2 pour Guillaume De Ridder (Kosmic/Vortex),
loin de ses résultats habituels, et John Filippi (Tony Kart/Vortex),
non qualifié. En KF3, Rémy Deguffroy (Tony Kart/Vortex) doit renoncer
en finale alors qu'il était sur une trajectoire ascendante. Abandon
également pour Enzo Marchetti (Sodi/Parilla). Pourtant très bien
revenu dans les manches de son lointain 48ème chrono, Anthoine Hubert
(Tony Kart/Vortex) laisse des plumes dans les phases finales. Rapide,
mais souvent retardé, Sébastien Bédoret (Kosmic/Vortex) termine 24ème
de la dernière course. Léo Roussel (Sodi/Parilla) et Charles Leclerc
(Maranello/Maranello) sont privés de finales à suite du lourd handicap
de chronos difficiles.

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If CRG showed what it is capable of at the end of March, on the
Italian track of Lonato, where only the best chassis can emerge,
Maxter had the starring role in Spain, on the Zuera circuit, which is
a real test ground for engines. All things considered, it was logical
that several CRG-Maxter drivers could climb on the podium of the third
round of the WSK Euro Series 2010.

While the eruption of the Eyjafjöll volcano continued in Iceland,
scattering ash all over Europe, the sky finally cleared above the
Zuera circuit. After a very humid Sunday morning, the final phase took
place on a dry track. WSK has made us accustomed to colourful, intense
shows and that is exactly what happened in Spain, thanks to the many
top-level drivers and highly motivated teams.

And CRG-Maxter karts took part in this show in all the categories.
Work done last winter by the company continues to bear fruits and
allows several drivers to make their podium dreams come true. "I am
very proud of the level of performance we have reached, especially in
KF2 and KF3, two categories in which our technicians have worked
really hard to reach the top", commented Giancarlo Tinini, president
of the CRG group. And Sunday's afternoon started indeed with the
victories of Michelle Gatting in KF2 and Max Verstappen in KF3!

A Title in the Line of Sight for Maxter....

Since season debut, Danish driver Gatting had always been close to the
podium in KF2, though she had never found her way to it, at least
until now. She reached the podium in style, since her third place was
preceded by a brilliant success in pre-final. "With a kart as fast as
mine, I think I could have done even better, but I couldn't not find a
way through at the start and I lost several places", Michelle stated.
"Pity, because I even drove faster than race leaders during the
final". Michelle, who is supported by VDK Racing (CRG Junior Team) is
now heading to the third place in WSK.

In KF3, Max Verstappen continued to exploit his very effective
CRG-Maxter to show his great talent. On a circuit with long fast
stretches and restarts difficult to manage, he passed his rivals as
soon as they gained some advantage. "In this WSK season, I scored the
highest number of points five times out of six and my worst result is
a second place in Lonato. These results are not due to chance, but to
the real competitiveness of my equipment", said Max, who is now even
closer to the title.

In the difficult KZ1 category, Jonathan Thonon conquered three podiums
in a row. In Zuera, the Belgian driver motorised by Tec'Sav thought he
had lost every chance at the start of the pre-final. "I was forced to
pass on the verge to avoid Renaudie who broke his engine at the end of
the straight stretch. Then, I gave it all to regain ground and my
equipment helped me fine", said Jonathan, who also set the best lap
time in the pre-final and then in the final, in addition to his
remarkable recovery up to the second place.

In Super KF, a stone thrown by a driver's kart during the final
pierced Arnaud Kozlinski's radiator, in full recovery in the final
race, just when a podium was in sight. "My sixth place does not really
reflect our level and I think I have shown that also this year, the
other teams will have to keep a close eye on CRG and Maxter in the
next rounds", Arnaud added.

Photo:Chris Walker/Kartpix.net

Images courtesy of www.kartpix.net

Super One Rotax Series Round 2: Rowrah 17 - 18 April

The second round of the Super One Rotax, ABkC National Championships
and UK’s Max Challenge qualifiers threw up a completely different set
of winners, except in Max 177 where Lucas Orrock and Stephen Cobb
shared the wins. Tom Fawcett dominated senior Max with double wins,
whilst in Junior Max Andy King took the first but was thwarted in the
second letting Sean Babington slip by.  Harry Webb came up from third
to beat first final winner Sam Ward in MiniMax.

Supported by StingrayRV the series went north to the Cumbrian idyll of
Rowrah in England’s Lake District. The circuit is notable for its
tight hairpins,
a fearsome blind uphill turn into the chicane, and a fast downhill run
into a ninety right hander.

Former World Champion Mike Wilson was on hand to mentor the Canadian
driver Lance Stroll.

ABkC MiniMax

After topping timed qualifying, Zubair Houque would have troublesome
finals, as would first round winner George Russell, whereas Harry Webb
split the pair at this stage and kept his focus throughout.  Sam Ward,
Oliver Myers, Harry Webb and Ashley England all popped in heat wins to
see Ward on pole for the first final.

After two red flagged aborted starts, the race finally got underway
without Lemuel Pay who suffered a hand injury.  Ward led a threesome
with Myers under great pressure from Webb after England succumbed and
fell to sixth.  Jack Aitken had an impressive run to fourth ahead of
Bobby Thompson.

In the second final, Ward and Webb energetically traded the lead
whilst Russell couldn’t sustain his third place and fell to twelfth.
Samuel Oram-Jones crashed out whilst Webb had his hands full defending
from Myers until Aitken stormed past both.  Aitken challenged Ward at
the Pits corner, impeding them both enough for Webb to nip through and
take the win from a distant Ward.  Aitken fell to eight, behind the
huge third place battle, Ryan Norris just ahead of Thompson and Myers.

MiniMax Final 1

1 Sam Ward Kosmic

2 Oliver Myers Tonykart

3 Harry Webb Tonykart

Final 2

1 Webb

2 Ward

3 Ryan Norris Tonykart

ABkC Rotax Junior Max

Andy King was right on form, snatching qualifying pole by a hundredth
from Oliver Hodgson and Fraser O’Brien.  King and Ash Hand took the
Saturday heats, Jack Marshall and Matt Parry on Sunday.  These four
sustained their form lining up on the first two rows of the first
final, King on pole but immediately challenged by Parry and falling to
fourth.  Marshall was next to star, with King challenging, as Hand
dropped back to sixth. Nathan Harrison, Parry and Sean Babington had
lost touch with the leaders, but Harrison retired as Parry took third.
King was back ahead when the race was red-flagged to sort out a big
crash between Oliver Hodgson, Jonathan Davis and James Singleton.

King had it all covered at the start of the second final, chased by
Parry until he lost his front fairing and had to pit leaving Hand
second.  Marshall and Babington skipped by Hand, and chased down the
gap both passing King.  Marshall had a lap in the lead before
Babington took up the running then it all became rather controversial.
King dived into the lead, putting Babington third, then Marshall
challenged King at the penultimate corner taking them both wide and
allowing Babington to sail past for the win.

Junior Max Final 1

1 Andy King Gillard

2 Jack Marshall Tonykart

3 Matthew Parry Kosmic

Final 2

1 Sean Babington Alonso

2 Marshall

3 King

ABkC Rotax Max

Tom Fawcett set down his marker in timed qualifying, beating Ross
Wylie, Ed Brand, Jake Ball and Alex Magee.  Reigning champion Michael
Simpson was just ahead of the Japanese rookie Ren Nagabuchi, Daniel
Graham and Dan Holland.  But trouble was ahead, after wins by Fawcett
and Brand on Saturday, Fawcett again and Jake Ball on Sunday, Simpson
was excluded for a slipping clutch detected by the on-board individual
Unilogger.  This technical non-compliance meant he could take no
further part in the meeting and will have to count his zero score at
the end of the year.

Ball briefly led the first final from Fawcett whilst Holland and
Graham came off at the first hairpin, and Nagabuchi at the second.
Recovering from an off in the second heat, and being forced into the
repechage which he won, John Stewart stormed through to tenth.
Fawcett finally established his lead on lap five, with Brand a safe
third.  The various incidents had promoted Lewis Brown, Jack Dex and
Will Hunter, the latter two having swapped places half way through.

Fawcett dominated the second final, eking out a two second win over
Ball, who threw off a challenge from Jack Dex.   Stewart worked his
way up to third, with Graham recovering ahead of Wylie and Holland up
to seventh from the back, taking fastest lap on the way.  Brand went
out on lap three.

Senior Rotax Max Final 1

1 Tom Fawcett Tonykart

2 Jake Ball Gillard

3 Edward Brand Birel

Final 2

1 Fawcett

2 Ball

3 John Stewart Tonykart

ABkC Rotax Max 177

Qualifying went well for David Griffiths, taking fastest by a whisker
from Lucas Orrock and Luke Woodland.  Orrock went onto win both heats,
but Griffiths pipped him at the start of the first final with Cobb
very close and Tim Penton coming up fast.  Cobb’s challenge on second
didn’t come off, and he fell to fourth, giving Orrock the incentive to
relieve Griffiths of the lead at mid-distance.  Penton thus inherited
third.  Griffiths briefly had the lead at the start of the second
final, but Orrock grabbed it back.  Cobb was on a charge, soon taking
both of them.  Shadowing Cobb, Griffiths made his final challenge at
the last corner only to find the door firmly shut in his face.

Max 177 Final 1

1 Lucas Orrock Kosmic

2 David Griffiths GMS X30

3 Tim Penton Kosmic

Final 2

1 Stephen Cobb Birel

2 Griffiths

3 Orrock

The next Rotax round is on 8/9 May at Whilton Mill.  Full results and
championship points on www.s1series.co.uk