Academicians Receive Car Award
In addition to the competition itself, one of the specificities of the new CIK-FIA “U18” World Championship and Academy Trophy is the educational programme 'EduKart'.
On touch-sensitive terminals, the drivers at each round must answer questions concerning various topics, such as the sporting and technical regulations, history of Karting, anti-doping, etc.
Above: The top 3 performers from the EduKart question programme - Anthoine Hubert, Niklas Tiihonen and Vsevolod Gagen (pic - CIK)
At the recent round in Spain, the top three drivers of the Academy Trophy were allowed to climb on the podium, given a financial boost for their career and also won a 'christening' at the wheel of a racing car on the automobile circuit of Motorland Aragón, located within the same complex as the Karting track.
On the initiative of the circuit owners, the SEAT Leon Supercopa (305 HP) of their local driver David Sanchez was fitted with a second seat in order to give a ride to the Frenchman Anthoine Hubert, the Russian Vsevolod Gagen and the Finn Niklas Tiihonen, who were the quickest to come up with correct answers to all the questions asked.
After two high-speed laps of this brand-new 5.3 km circuit, the three boys had big smiles on their faces. “What a fabulous circuit!”, explained Anthoine Hubert (13 years old), who had already had the opportunity to sit in a racing car before. “It goes up and down, and there are very fast corners… It was really great to discover it like this!”
Russia’s Vsevolod Gagen (14 years old) declared himself impressed by the braking. “I was unable to keep my head straight”, he said. “It’s amazing to see how powerful the braking is! And the speeds reached are impressive!”
As for Niklas Tiihonen (14 years old), he was almost speechless. “Fantastic! The circuit is superb as regards both the facilities and the course. And the sensation on board such a car is impressive… It was really a beautiful gift!”
The EduKart programme has been hailed as successful with 22 of the 31 academicians putting up a faultless performance by answering the 12 questions asked, while 35 out of the 54 “U18” World Championship drivers did likewise.
