IFR’s Success Battered By Tough Competition At Euro Challenge

press release

Excluding the brilliant results of the team’s Senior Max driver Josh Hart, who took pole position and made the podium in Italy, the second round of the Rotax Euro Challenge has proven to be a tough one this week for the other four Intrepid Force Rotax drivers, just like it was for many competitors who may have expected to be more successful at Busca. Although they were able to be fast and finish within the top 10 during the racing, a combination of intense heat, some bad luck and unavoidable on-track incidents has prevented the Austrian-based team from achieving the desired championship points in Italy.

In the 2-speed Rotax DD2 class, Dominik Kraihamer had injured himself during practice earlier in the week resulting in bruised ribs, so the somewhat challenging Kart Planet circuit didn’t assist in making the racing any easier for the Austrian. He qualified 4th in his session Friday, giving him 12th fastest lap overall from the field of 37. The defending Euro vice champ finished around the top 5 in two heats, but dropped well down the order after a disappointing start in the other race.

Above: Dominik was definitely looking like a hot favourite in the lead up to qualifying, but unfortunately sustained an injury during practice that would hamper his chances of being as competitive. The 19-year old is the defending vice champion in the European 2-speed DD2 class and the reigning number 4 in the World ranking.
pic - Igor Kurkowski

Unfortunately, the Intrepid chassis sustained some damage in the pre-final, although he still finished 15th following two restarts due to the race being red-flagged. It was noticeable that Kraihamer was not pushing as hard as he normally would in particular sections of the track, but still did a great job to finish a commendable 12th in the 27.5km race. The pace was fast in the gearbox class, especially with the softer tyres and the high grip conditions, so ending up just outside the first 10 was a respectable result considering.

Making his debut to the European team for IFR was Germany’s Maxi Fleischmann, who was competing in only his second Rotax DD2 race at the Euro for this season. At 15 years of age, Fleischmann could still be in Junior Max, but his height and weight compared to most other junior drivers would be an obvious disadvantage. Some problems with the front brakes in the official timed practice prevented him clocking a quicker lap, so he had to settle for 16th in his group and P30 in the class.

Above: Making his debut with the Austrian team, Maxi Fleischmann is one of the youngest drivers in the DD2 gearbox category at just 15 years of age and admits it’s not easy mixing it with some of the more experienced drivers, like his team-mate, at this level of competition. However, the newest IFR member is hoping that having Dominik as a mentor for his racing will only enable him to be as successful.
pic - Bas Kaligis

The qualifying heats were a welcome improvement Saturday, with a 12th, 10th and 7th in the last of the races. Driving the Intrepid DD2 Sirius for the first time, he started the pre-final from row 10 but was a victim of a collision that forced him to retire before the race was restarted. In the final, the IFR newcomer made up 15 positions to cross the line inside the top 20 for 18th place. It was a great effort and he later admitted that the racing was tough, with so many more experienced drivers to compete against on this level at a track that he’s unfamiliar with.

The weekend began very well for one of IFR’s junior drivers Maxi Gunkel, who was on the pace in practice and second quickest in the morning warm-up Friday. There was a noticeable difference in the two junior groups in qualifying, with Gunkel’s 15-minute session at least 4-tenths slower. He was 5th in group one, but only classified 15th in the 35-kart field. Saturday’s heat races gave the young German driver a taste of cutting-edge racing, where the slightest error can jeopardize any hope of a good result, which he discovered in the first race and dropped back to 7th. The next race was action-packed, as Gunkel diced with the front-runners until the leading three were eliminated in the last lap. The early leader slid off and the others penalised for a false start and technical non-conformity. The win was handed to the IFR junior. He then took P7 in the third heat for an inside grid on row 3 for the pre-final Sunday.

Above: It was a disappointing end to the event for Maxi Gunkel, who drove well to be running in the top 3 in both finals, also up to 2nd at one stage. He was the victim of a collision right in front of him that saw the German driver left with nowhere to go, losing vital positions as a result. In only his second race with IFR, the number 42 junior had a very good chance of being on the podium at round 2 of the Euro in Italy.
pic - Bas Kaligis

Fighting his way up to 2nd, Gunkel fell to 5th in the pre-final after running wide and allowing two karts to pass. He worked his way through once again to take 3rd place. The start was superb in the last race as he grabbed 2nd and tailed round 1 winner Josh Webster, before being passed by the very determined lady driver Beitske Visser, also on the Intrepid kart. He ran offline as he came under pressure from the chasing pack, falling to 6th. A challenge by Visser for the lead saw the group bunch at half-race distance, leaving the number 42 driver nowhere to go. He collided with another kart and was out on the grass before rejoining mid-field. When the chequered flag signaled the end of the 16-lap final, Gunkel was in 16th.

Facing her second Euro event at Busca, Corinna Kamper (pic, right by Igor Kurkowski) had the benefit of testing the weekend prior at the Kart Planet circuit with IFR. The 14-year old Junior Max driver was hoping to be more competitive this round but the draining Italian heat didn’t help her in practice. She was faster again by Friday for qualifying and set the 11th best time in her group, which saw her ranked 17th. The racing was challenging for Kamper, who got off to a slow start in the first heat Saturday then was involved in a turn 1 collision and retired into the pits. The following two races were better; she had a 6th and then displayed some great driving to get to 5th in the last, only to see it all go wrong when two other karts attempted to pass her in the corner before the main straight. The Austrian lady driver was unhappy to be relegated back to 16th as a result.

Starting from grid position 26 in the pre-final, she found herself caught up in another starting incident, as she launched over a kart spinning across the track and was lucky to stay upright. The steering and front of the chassis were completely damaged, so Kamper had no choice but to stop. For the final, she used the spare team Intrepid kart, but without being race-ready for her, it obviously wasn’t as easy to drive. In the end, she did her best and made up some positions to cross the line in P28. 

The team now looks towards their preparation for the next round of the Rotax Euro Challenge which takes place at Sosnova in the Czech Republic, July 22-26.

Visit IFR’s official homepage at www.intrepidforcerotax.com to read the driver quotes and check out more photos from the European event. All the latest news and updates plus the exclusive RTGT merchandise Shop can be found at www.racetogetthere.com

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