The KZ1 battle had been eagerly anticipated by everyone. Winner of a race each in France in the opening round of the competition, Jonathan Thonon (CRG/Maxter) and Bas Lammers (Top Kart/TM) arrived at Mariembourg in equal first place for the second and final round of the KZ1 European Championship.

However there was no contest in this top class of 125cc gearbox karts as Thonon on his home track was in irrepressible form dominating Race 1 before finishing, with the pressure off, in second place in Race 2. Four years after his European title in ICA, Jonathan Thonon thus added another European crown to his tally which also counts the World Cup. The dedication of Thonon is matched by his team, CRG, and Belgian teammate Rick Dreezen (CRG-Maxter) who secured the runner up vice champion title with his victory in Race 2.

The two Belgians headed Bas Lammers in the championship, never in a position to make the podium and hurt by the non finish in Race 2, trailing Frenchman Thomas Mich (Birel-TM) and the ever youthful Alessandro Piccini (Maranello-TM). In spite of two 3rd places guaranteeing CRG-Maxter a 100% podium record, the 2007 champion Alessandro Manetti failed to make the top 5.

Comprising three rounds, the European KF1 championship is far from over yet. One could even say that after the two races in Belgium, the title hunt starts all over again. Twice a winner, the triple European Champion Marco Ardigo (Tony Kart/Vortex) recovered a delicate situation after the opening round in Angerville. The Italian stands in second place in the championship a few points adrift of his team mate Gary Catt, constrained by the abandonment in the first race just like poleman Armand Convers (PCR/TM) and Sauro Cesetti (Birel/TM).

Very keen to give his Belgian fans something to cheer, Yannick de Brabander (Intrepid/TM) created a great atmosphere by twice mounting the podium. After his third place in Race 1, behind Alessandro Bressan (Kosmic/Vortex), the young Belgian took second by ten miliseconds! Sauro Cesetti, starting in 30th place on the grid, certainly had cause to rue the fact that there wasn’t another few laps. More than ever this was an example of a fabulous duel between two generations of drivers with the crowd playing their part to build up a great atmosphere. It is certain that there will be plenty more great competition in Braga, in Portugal on the first weekend in August.

Like the KF1 class, the KZ2 category (division two of gearbox karts) contested the second round of a three round championship. After a great showing in a festival atmosphere in round one in their native France, the victories were shared between championship leaders Tony Lavanant (Energy/TM) and Joffrey Demanse (PCR/TM). The ten seconds penalty assessed on Lavanant for a jump start in race two which he had dominated, dropped him down to 10th place thereby enabling Joffrey Demanse to go to the top of the championship standings. The difference between Demanse and Lavanant is only 11 points however and a third Frenchman, Mathias Galeppe (Energy-TM) lies in wait ready to pounce.

Related Posts

• Thonon dominates in KZ1 while other classes are wide open
• Convers et Thonon les plus rapides
• Top times for Convers and Thonon
• European Championships @ Mariembourg
• Duel belgo-hollandais en KZ1 à Mariembourg

Will the much awaited duel in KZ1 (division 1 for karts with gearbox) between Jonathan Thonon and Bas Lammers live up to the high expectations? That is the question posed at Mariembourg after today’s qualifying races in this category. Only 8th fastest after a timed session on a track much wetter than the 7 drivers in front of him, Thonon (CRG-Maxter) totally dominated his two qualifying races. On the other hand, his principal championship rival, Bas Lammers (Top Kart-TM) was definitely less convincing. Co-leader of the championship with Thonon, the Dutchman will start in 16th place only after having been assessed a penalty in one of his races. Behind Thonon, the Dutchman Arjan Kievitsbosch (CRG-Maxter) and the young Belgian Rick Dreezen (CRG-Maxter) confirmed the good form of CRG in being classified in 2nd and 3rd places, in front of Andrea Benedetti (Tony Kart-Vortex) and Thomas Mich (Birel-TM) currently third in the championship. Once again the speed of Norman Nato (Intrepid-TM) caught the eye. The French lad who will soon be 16 years old, would have been on the front row had he not been penalised for a light contact with Alessandro Manetti (CRG-Maxter). He will finally start in 8th place, in front of the same Manetti, who as a result of the incident could not post his best time during the session.

The principal category of international karting, KF1 is decidedly wide open. The qualifying races on Saturday afternoon simply confirmed that several drivers on several different karts are all in with a chance. Second in qualifying practice and twice second in his qualifying races, Armand Convers (PCR-TM) will start tomorrow on pole position for race one. The Frenchman will start in front of a Tony Kart duo of world champion Marco Ardigo, and the young Finn Matias Laine, followed by the Italian Alessandro Bressnan (Kosmic-Vortex) and the Dutchman Jack Te Braak (Zanardi-Parilla), winner of a heat.

The unlucky driver of the day was Sauro Cesetti (Birel-TM). Extremely fast in his first qualifying race, he was increasing his lead when he was called in by his mechanics. In spite of his victory in race two, Sauro will only start tomorrow in 15th place for race one. It was worse still for Arnaud Kozlinski (CRG-Maxter). Disqualified from a race due to non conformity of his clutch, the Frenchman will be 25th on the starting grid. In contrast, Gary Catt (Tony Kart-Vortex) recovered his precarious position well. Caught out by the rain in qualifying practice, the championship leader made a great improvement and will now start in tenth place on the starting grid, just behind local driver Yannick de Brabander (Intrepid-TM).

In KZ2, the 2nd division of gearbox karts, the qualifying races will continue this Sunday morning. But those which were contested on Saturday already suggest that there will be a fine spectacle with several drivers clearly emerging as potential winners. These include for the French Joffrey Demanse (PCR TM) and Tony Lavanant (Energy TM) and for the British Jack Hawksworth (Gillard TM), all three in very good form since the start of the season, and it is necessary to add the Dutchmen Joey Hanssen (PCR TM) and Kevin Jansen (Energy TM). The 6 qualifying races will again determine the starting grid for the first race.

Related Posts

• Thonon European Champion in KZ1, all still to play for in KF1
• Convers et Thonon les plus rapides
• Top times for Convers and Thonon
• European Championships @ Mariembourg
• Duel belgo-hollandais en KZ1 à Mariembourg

Fastest in the first series in KZ1, co-leader of the championship, Jonathan Thonon (CRG-Maxter) then watched all the following sessions set improved times. Fastest in the second series, Alessandro Manetti (CRG-Maxter) secured pole position after a good battle with the young Belgian Rick Dreezen (CRG-Maxter), the European vice champion in KZ2. The young Frenchman Norman Nato (Intrepid-TM) confirmed that despite his youthful age of just 15 years, he was continuing his excellent early season form by securing the 3rd fastest time ahead of Dutchman Arjan Kievitsbosch (CRG-TM) and Frenchman Thomas Mich (Birel-TM) currently in third place in the championship. So having dropped down to 8th place in the standings, Jonathan Thonon is at least ahead of his rival Bas Lammers (Top Kart-TM). The Dutchman will really have to roll up his sleeves tomorrow to improve on his lowly 18th place.

In direct contrast to the KZ1 category, it was better in the earlier stages of KF1 qualifying for those drivers who avoided another downpour. Recent winner of the World Cup in Suzuka, Davide Fore (Maranello-Maxter) benefitted from an early session to secure a splendid pole position heading by more than a tenth of a second, the Frenchman Armand Convers (PCR-TM), the Italian Alessandro Bressan (Kosmic-Vortex), the young Dutch hope Jack Te Braak (Zanardi-Parilla) and triple European Champion, Marco Ardigo (Tony Kart-Vortex). These 4 drivers were covered by just 0.01 (one hundredth) of a second! In 6th place , the Belgian Yannick de Brabander (Intrepid-TM) led the group hunting down Arnaud Kozlinski (CRG-Maxter), winner of a race in France, in eighth place. For some championship contenders, the weekend started rather badly. The current championship leader, Britain’s Gary Catt (Tony Kart-Vortex) is only 24th. Despite his best time in the second series, Sauro Cesetti finished in 14th place and he and other drivers were left to reflect on a qualifying session that had ruined their set up and become a lottery which left a lot to chance.

This morning the KZ2 category will contest their qualifying practice sessions. Then, the drivers will begin their qualifying races, which will make it possible to determine the 34 drivers who will qualify for Sunday’s final stages. In short, it’s a long way to the Final. And if the rain continues to play hide and seek, then without a doubt the racing will be full of surprise.

Advertisement: Advertise here! Buy links in the Kartlink RSS feed.

Related Posts

• Thonon dominates in KZ1 while other classes are wide open
• European Championships @ Mariembourg
• Duel belgo-hollandais en KZ1 à Mariembourg
• Te Braak and Manetti on Pole Position
• Thonon European Champion in KZ1, all still to play for in KF1

Other decisions by the WMSC are:

• Within the framework of the new rolling start procedure applicable in the 2008 CIK-FIA Championships, Cups and Trophies, it has been decided to increase to 50 km/h (instead of 25) the maximum authorised speed in the approach phase to the start line.
• The full Sporting Regulations of the new CIK-FIA World Cup for KF3 (Juniors), to be introduced in 2009, have been approved.
• As from 2009, Drivers having participated in all the events and scored at least one point in the European KZ2 Championship will be eligible for the World Cup for KZ1 of the same year.
• As from 2009, the number of Drivers allowed to participate in the final event of the European KF2 and KF3 Championships will be increased to 81 (instead of 72).

Related Posts

• World Championship to Macau in 2009!
• Paddock ambience at the World Champs
• Formula 2 name to be revived
• Fore et Harvey, vainqueurs au Japon
• Fore wins World Cup at Suzuka

Related Posts

• Thonon dominates in KZ1 while other classes are wide open
• Duel belgo-hollandais en KZ1 à Mariembourg
• Thonon European Champion in KZ1, all still to play for in KF1
• Fore and Manetti win the weather lottery
• 6 courses, 6 vainqueurs!

• CRG - DD2
• Maranello - Senior
• Intrepid - Junior

Related Posts

• Improvements at Intrepid in preparation for the Europeans
• Maranello on the podium at Mariembourg
• De bonnes perspectives avant l’Europe
• Destination Podium pour Maranello
• Fore wins World Cup at Suzuka

Race 2
1. A. Convers 22 vueltas
2. L. Wright a3.570
3. J. Cautela a5.517
4. A. Doménech a7.253
5. A. Sequera a8.452
6. B.Arnaut a8.904

KF3
Race 1
1. G. Barrabeig (FA Kart/Vortex) 18vueltas
2. C. Sainz (FA Kart/Vortex) a0.874
3. K. Ceccon (Maranello/TM) a1.818
4. A. Del Rio (Intrepid/TM) a2.549
5. J.M. Pérez (TonyKart/Vortex) a2.716
6. V. Majó (FA Kart/Vortex) a4.370
9. M. Hale (Maranello/TM) a7.677

Race 2
1. C. Sainz 18vueltas
2. K. Ceccon a0.618
3. M. Hale a5.046
4. M. Bejarano a5.257
5. V. Majó a5.465
6. G. Barrabeig a 6.373

Related Posts

• Carlos Sainz Jr vuelve a ganar en KF3
• Mas Espanoles en el top ten
• Armand Convers at Mariembourg
• Thonon dominates in KZ1 while other classes are wide open
• Carlos Sainz Jr rodo en tiempos de podium

The European KF2 (former ICA) and KF3 (former ICA/Junior) Championships have always been very popular with Drivers, so in 2001 the CIK-FIA introduced the principle of regional qualifying events. These Qualifications have the distinctive feature of being held on the same weekend, on next 10-13 July 2008, at three different circuits as Europe has been divided into three regions for the occasion.

Drivers from the northern region will race at the circuit of Göteborg (Sweden). Drivers from the western region will meet in Alcaniz (Spain) and central region entrants will compete in Sant’Egidio alla Vibrata (Italy).

These qualifying events will serve to designate the 72 Drivers (proportionally to the number of entries in each of the regions) who will compete in the CIK-FIA European Championship Final.

KF2 and KF3 Drivers will be gathered for these regional selections but they will have separate Finals: the European KF2 title will be decided on 3 August 2008 in Braga (Portugal), whereas KF3 Juniors will fight it out for their own European title on 7 September 2008 in Varennes s/Allier (France).

Entry lists are on the CIK-FIA site.

Related Posts

• 420 PILOTES AUX CHAMPIONNATS D’EUROPE CIK-FIA DE KF2 ET KF3!
• Grande attesa per l’Open Masters dell’8 giugno a Sant’Egidio alla Vibrata, 4. prova della stagione e test per l’Europeo KF2 e KF3
• 2008 Teams & Drivers
• 2008 European and World Championship tracks update
• Is KF1 the new Formula Super A?

One of the favourite tracks on the calendar, Rowrah’s mixture of high-speed straights, testing corners and tricky chicanes is a true driver’s circuit.

Small wonder then perhaps, that Carl won one of the two KF3 finals, whilst his elder brother Craig, set the lap record in KF2.

In the packed junior category, the youngest of the three brothers, 13-year old Adam fared less well - and was at a loss for the reason why. During Saturday practice he had been quick but his early speed eluded him on race-day - “I just don’t know what went wrong” he said. “I went from being on the pace to nearly a second off it. I was driving well and not making too many mistakes.”

Just three tenths of a second faster than Adam in his qualifying session, British Open Champion Carl was further up the order in 14th position, but confident that he could gain higher places in the races.

After a hard fought battle to work his way into the lead, Carl took a deserved first final victory - and also racked-up 50 valuable championship points. Behind him, Adam was the victim of a first corner crash and having dropped to last, was unable to recover further than 22nd place.

Showing his increasing maturity and the fact that he’s now beginning to think about the title, Carl sensibly opted for points rather than outright glory in the 2nd final. He still found himself boarding the ferry home clutching another trophy – having taken 3rd at the chequered flag and the championship lead.

He said: “The best result would’ve been two wins - but consistent finishes make the difference if you want to win the title. I always go to a race aiming to win, but points finishes are equally important. If I can keep finishing on the podium, that’ll win me the Championship.”

In contrast to Carl’s obvious delight, Adam endured another difficult race but refused to be downcast: “It was quite disappointing really for me, but I’ll bounce back at the next race!”

In KF2, 16-year old Craig was experiencing the fortunes of both his younger brothers. In his second heat, he shattered the lap record and was justifiably delighted: “My time was four tenths of a second faster than the previous record. My motor just had unbelievable bottom end.”

But after his and the Millennium Racing team’s elation, came disappointment. Having qualified well for the first of two finals, Craig suffered from clutch gremlins – dropping from 4th to 11th but still scored a hatful of championship points.

In the following race, a crash dropped him from 10th to 20th - but a gritty drive saw him pass nine drivers to secure more points for his title bid. “I’m happy to be in 5th place overall. Obviously I wanted to leave Rowrah leading the Championship but 5th is okay”.

Related Posts

• Stirling and Danzey win after tough battles in KF3
• Stirling efforts see Adam, Craig and Carl qualify for Bridgestone Cup
• Thomas Balmer at Rowrah
• Russell Danzey at Rowrah
• Podium double moves Walker into Championship contention

In KF2, there were different leaders at every stage of the event: the Finn Laura Koivuluoma (Tony Kart-Vortex), initially distinguished herself by achieving the fastest lap time in qualifying practice. At the end of the qualifying heats, it was the Russian Christian Friedrich (Tony Kart-Parilla) who led the provisional classification, ahead of Finland’s Leopold Ringbom (Gillard-Parilla) and Denmark’s Mikkel Mac Jensen (Tony Kart-Vortex). In the Sunday rain, Leopold Ringbom won the pre-final. He then covered the first five laps of the final in the lead but was unable to stand up to Sweden’s Joel Johansson (Energy-TM), who prevailed after the 30-km long race, with a lead of more than 5 seconds over Ringbom and of more than 10 seconds over Jarno Hamppi (Sodi-Parilla).

In KZ2, the Finn Pekka Seppänen (Energy-TM) was the only one who obtained a win for the organising country. As much at ease on a dry and on a wet track, Seppänen won all his qualifying heats, the pre-final and the final. He was accompanied on the final podium by the Norwegian Kenneth Ostvold (Energy-TM) and by the Finnish-Russian Gleb Shirshov (Sodi-TM).

Related Posts

• Victoires de Zimin, Johansson et Seppänen au Viking Trophy