Challenging Start To Rotax Euros For IFR

press release

The opening round of the 2009 Rotax Euro Challenge in north-eastern Spain last week was the first time the newly-grouped Intrepid Force Rotax Euro team had raced together, so there was an air of anticipation amongst the drivers and mechanics as they became more familiar with working towards a common goal to be as competitive as possible as the meeting progressed.

Above: Max Gunkel
pic - Jenni Wade/VPD Marketing

Located virtually in the middle between the capital city Madrid and Barcelona on the coast, the magnificent Zuera International Circuit played host to the 151 drivers from almost 30 nations, who were all hoping to gain some good points for the beginning of the series. At a lengthy 1700 metres, the track is extremely fast and leaves no room for error in the racing. With limited time to become accustomed to it and constantly chasing the best set-up, it meant pushing non-stop.

With three Junior Max drivers; Maximilian Gunkel (GER), Jamie Dzyra (GB) & Corinna Kamper (AUT), who were all brand new to the Euro Challenge, as well as our 2008 podium place-getters Dominik Kraihamer and Josh Hart in the Rotax DD2 and Senior Max classes respectively, the combination proved to be interesting. For IFR, the opportunity once again to introduce some youngsters to international racing was an exciting start to the season. However, the expectation for the senior drivers to perform was also evident and the pressure was on.

Above: Jamie Dzyra
pic - Bas Kaligis/Kartxpress.com

Dominik struggled initially to get back into the swing of driving the 2-speed kart, admitting he hadn’t done as much time in the seat as he would have liked throughout the winter. Zuera had a tough DD2 field for the 19-year old to contend with and a middle-order result in qualifying made the heats harder work, but he managed to gain several places in the overall ranking by the end of the racing Saturday.

Above: Dominic Kraihamer
pic - Bas Kaligis/Kartxpress.com

The pre-final provided a chance to put more of his racecraft into action, running where he’s used to being within the top 5. Unfortunately, the straight-line speed wasn’t enough to match that of some of the quicker drivers, so the Austrian lost vital positions as the 17-lap final unfolded, finishing 14th overall. In the series points, Dominik is sitting in a credible 8th going into round 2.

Searching for the ideal set-up in free practice proved to be a challenge for Josh, comparing every lap to the pace-setters in Senior Max, which can be 1000ths of a second. He qualified 9th from 61 in the class to start on grid 5 for the heat races following and drove well to rank 8th for the pre-final Sunday. Deciding to save the new tyres for the last race, the IFR Kiwi had a good start to immediately move into 5th, but slowly fell down the order to be 10th by the chequered flag.

Above: Kiwi Josh Hart
pic - Bas Kaligis/Kartxpress.com

With the 22-year old claiming the Intrepid chassis was working really well, he advanced to P5 when the final began, soon slotting into 4th and making the move for 3rd on lap 1. Contact ended his potential podium finish, as he was spun around going into the right hand corner in the fight for P3, leaving Josh to make some running repairs before rejoining three laps later. Now he has to do some homework within the next two months to guarantee being at the top in Italy.

In Junior Max, it was 15-year old Maxi who led the charge in Friday’s official timed practice for IFR, qualifying 8th to start each of the three heat races from row 2. The young German driver settled-in easily to have two 3rd places and a 5th, therefore lining-up for the pre-final on grid 4. The race was fast and as always, the choice by some drivers to use their new tyres for the first final can make it difficult for the others to keep the pace. Maxi was shuffled back to 9th over the course of the 10-lapper amongst the competitive junior drivers all aiming for F1 someday.

Above: Cori Kamper
pic - Bas Kaligis/Kartxpress.com

A 10-second penalty amidst the racing unfortunately relegated him to P30 for the afternoon final. He was on a mission to the top 10 and had 14 laps to succeed, which he did, tailing team-mate Jamie as the finish drew near. Another driver changed the end result, as Maxi was pushed out on the last lap losing 10 places. He was classified 20th and naturally disappointed with the outcome. However, he claims the change to Intrepid this season was a positive one and overall was very pleased with the weekend. In preparation for the next round, Maxi will also be racing in Germany.

As the youngest in the IFR Euro team, Jamie experienced his first ever Junior Max meeting in Spain. He was a little nervous going into the event, but would never admit that. Setting 12th fastest time in the qualifying was a fantastic effort, so he started all the heats on grid 5 directly behind Maxi. The Brit was ranked 19 following the racing with a 13th, brilliant 4th and 16th place.

Jamie managed to make up a few spots during the pre-final to finish in P16, where he was part of an 8-kart freight train with nothing seperating them across the finish line. The final saw him involved in a turn 2 stack, with the #37 kart underneath, but a full restart soon had Jamie back on track where he drove an exceptional race to breeze his way to 9th. This week, he’s competing in the British Championship back home and then working towards joining IFR once again in Italy.

For Cori, qualifying inside the first half of the junior field was a good start to her Euro Challenge debut. Having only eight minutes every hour for free practice on day 1, then four 18-minute sessions the next day, gave minimal time to get to know such a demanding circuit. In Saturday’s heats she started on the 4th and 5th rows, taking a top 10 place in two races, leaving the 14-year old on grid 22 for the pre-final.

Following an incident at the start, Cori’s laptimes improved throughout the race, clocking her best since the official timed practice Friday. She ended up 23rd and realised that the racing was quite intense at this level. The final also posed some close calls in the opening lap but she battled her way through to take 27th across the line. Cori revealed that she tried hard and knows there are some very good drivers in her class, so she’ll focus now on her training to be ready for round 2.

IFR’s Manager Ernst Penninger was pleased with the combined effort and very much what the team had acheived at the Euro Challenge event, knowing it would never be easy this round, especially with some new team members on board and coming out of the winter break.

"I expected the Euro to be more competitive than last year, which in my personal view it is. The decision to bring in two new junior drivers we’ve not worked with before appears to have been the right one and they truly showed their potential. Every one of our drivers improved as the week went on, so in this aspect it’s been very satisfying. We really have to ensure that we provide them with the race package they need to win."

"Our team itself proved once again that we are able to be on top and now we must work harder to regain the momentum and advantage that we had last season. The people we have in the background supporting our drivers are all top level and I’m confident that they will continue to work well together in the positive environment they’ve already created. Their dedication is outstanding and I want to thank them for their total commitment."

Preparation for the next round began the day after the Euro Challenge in Zuera, with some of the team staying over to make the most of the track conditions following the meeting. The second round of the championship will be held at the Kartplanet circuit in Busca, Italy from May 27-31.

To see all the qualifying and race results from Euro round 1, just go to www.rgmmc.com and click on the LIVE TIMING logo. There’s also some short videos from the Euro paddock, interviews, etc.

More photos and individual driver quotes can be found on IFR’s official team homepage at www.intrepidforcerotax.com with ongoing news updates also online at www.racetogetthere.com

 

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