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Euro Top Tens For IFR Team

press release

The Intrepid Force Rotax team has successfully claimed 3 excellent top 10 places in the Junior and Senior classes at the deciding round of the 2010 Rotax Max Euro Challenge at Karting Genk, Belgium. Following their double victories at both the Central European Zone Karting Trophy and the Austrian Championships in the lead up to the ‘Euro’, they’ll also contest the last round of the German-Austrian Rotax Max Challenge this weekend, where they are currently leading the series.

Above: Dalton Kellett

In his first season as a senior, Ferenc Kancsár was classified 9th in the European Rotax championship against a tough field of some of the World’s best in Max racing. The 15-year old had qualified well to start the heats from the second row, with a grid 15 position for the pre-final Sunday. Unfortunately, the luck wasn’t with him on Sunday for the finals, but he still achieved a top 10 placing overall in the series from what has been a progressive year for the very determined driver from Hungary.

It was a challenging weekend for Intrepid Canada driver Dalton Kellett, who races as part of the rather competitive Goodwood Kartways team. His first European outing involved coming to terms with the less forgiving racing that an international event like the ‘Euro’ offers, while discovering that the rumour about the Genk circuit being a little difficult to master was in fact true; not to mention those unfamiliar front brakes that beckoned to be used. Having been one of the frontrunners at the recent Canadian Rotax Nationals, Dalton is no slouch when it comes to mixing it with the best of them, like former World Rotax DD2 number 1 Pier-Luc Ouellette while fighting it out for the podium. However, he and his trusty mechanic Darryl played hard and did IFR proud for their gutsy effort!

Above: Ukyo Sasahara

Winning the World Junior Max title at 13 years of age has led to what has undeniably been a character building exercise for Ukyo Sasahara, which is partly why the young Japanese driver joined IFR this season to race at the Euro Challenge. Running 3rd in the championship coming into the last round at Genk, may have added some pressure when the points were so close, but it’s all part of learning to be a champion. However, the opportunity to defend his number 1 status slipped away during Sunday’s final after an encouraging pre-final where he finished 5th. In a somewhat anxious move just 4 laps from the end, the #56 kart spun off when Sasahara attempted to pass a slightly slower kart in frustration for a podium place. It was naturally a disappointing end to what began in 2010 as a brilliant beginning when he won the Rotax Winter Cup on his European debut, but to be ranked 6th in the championship remains a fantastic result and no doubt the best is yet to come.

Above: Stefan Locsmandi

In contrast, one of IFR’s Austrian drivers Stefan Locsmandi had a rewarding weekend all around, as he continued for the third week in a row to get some great results after securing three podiums at the previous two race events immediately before arriving at Genk. In his final season as a junior, Locsmandi has now added some well-deserved achievements to his portfolio in his introduction to international competition, including the Central European Zone Karting Trophy and 2010 Austrian title. With his sights set on making Motorsport a career, the 14-year old has realistically taken another step towards this by finishing 10th in his class at the Euro. He was 8th in both the pre-final and final, which increased his total points to be only 4 positions behind his Japanese team mate.

Fellow countryman Stefan Riener didn’t have the best weekend in his only Euro Challenge event this season, but it’s not always so easy to make the transition from one engine class to another; from one week to the next, having been one of the front-runners at the U/18 World Championships in Alcaniz the Sunday before. He was a fraction faster than Locsmandi in qualifying and still amongst the quickest in the junior finals, yet struggled to find the best set-up at times and starting from row 7 in the pre-final resulted in him having to try to work his way up through the traffic. In the final itself, Riener made up 9 places over the 14 laps, but typically known to be a high-achiever, he’d had hoped to be in the first 5 when the chequered flag came out; not the first 15. It was encouraging for the other junior drivers to have him as part of the team in Belgium, with experience racing at the Euro and international level.

IFR team manager Ernst Penninger Jr. admitted that the results weren’t what were realistically possible when it came to the deciding round, but on a positive note IFR continues to be up with the leading teams and look towards an even better new season next year in international competition.

Above: Stefan Riener

“We came to the final round of the Euro at Genk to finish with our drivers in the top 5, maybe even a top 3 on the podium. Unfortunately, we didn’t have the most competitive set-up when it came to the end of free practice Thursday for us to be on the pace for qualifying. Some of the drivers were able to run with the leaders during the racing, but in the end we failed to get the results we’d hoped. Still, to have three top 10 drivers in the European Championship is a great achievement for our team. It will make us even more ambitious for 2011! It was also good to have new international drivers and mechanics from Europe, Japan and Canada join us for a round throughout the series to experience the Euro Challenge racing.”

All race results from the Rotax Max Euro Challenge in Belgium, together with the overall championship points and RGMMC IP-TV with trackside interviews and race highlights - are online at www.rgmmc.com

IFR news and updates for the 2010 season can be found on the team's official homepage - www.intrepidforcerotax.com & also at www.racetogetthere.com

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	Euro Top Tens For IFR Team press release The Intrepid Force Rotax team has successfully claimed 3 excellent top 10 places in the Junior and Senior classes at the deciding round of the 2010 Rotax Max Euro Challenge at Karting Genk, Belgium. Following their double victories at both the Central European Zone Karting Trophy and the Austrian Championships in the lead up to the ‘Euro’, they’ll also contest the last round of the German-Austrian Rotax Max Challenge this weekend, where they are currently leading the series. Above: Dalton Kellett In his first season as a senior, Ferenc Kancsár was classified 9th in the European Rotax championship against a tough field of some of the World’s best in Max racing. The 15-year old had qualified well to start the heats from the second row, with a grid 15 position for the pre-final Sunday. Unfortunately, the luck wasn’t with him on Sunday for the finals, but he still achieved a top 10 placing overall in the series from what has been a progressive year for the very determined driver from Hungary. It was a challenging weekend for Intrepid Canada driver Dalton Kellett, who races as part of the rather competitive Goodwood Kartways team. His first European outing involved coming to terms with the less forgiving racing that an international event like the ‘Euro’ offers, while discovering that the rumour about the Genk circuit being a little difficult to master was in fact true; not to mention those unfamiliar front brakes that beckoned to be used. Having been one of the frontrunners at the recent Canadian Rotax Nationals, Dalton is no slouch when it comes to mixing it with the best of them, like former World Rotax DD2 number 1 Pier-Luc Ouellette while fighting it out for the podium. However, he and his trusty mechanic Darryl played hard and did IFR proud for their gutsy effort! Above: Ukyo Sasahara Winning the World Junior Max title at 13 years of age has led to what has undeniably been a character building exercise for Ukyo Sasahara, which is partly why the young Japanese driver joined IFR this season to race at the Euro Challenge. Running 3rd in the championship coming into the last round at Genk, may have added some pressure when the points were so close, but it’s all part of learning to be a champion. However, the opportunity to defend his number 1 status slipped away during Sunday’s final after an encouraging pre-final where he finished 5th. In a somewhat anxious move just 4 laps from the end, the #56 kart spun off when Sasahara attempted to pass a slightly slower kart in frustration for a podium place. It was naturally a disappointing end to what began in 2010 as a brilliant beginning when he won the Rotax Winter Cup on his European debut, but to be ranked 6th in the championship remains a fantastic result and no doubt the best is yet to come. Above: Stefan Locsmandi In contrast, one of IFR’s Austrian drivers Stefan Locsmandi had a rewarding weekend all around, as he continued for the third week in a row to get some great results after securing three podiums at the previous two race events immediately before arriving at Genk. In his final season as a junior, Locsmandi has now added some well-deserved achievements to his portfolio in his introduction to international competition, including the Central European Zone Karting Trophy and 2010 Austrian title. With his sights set on making Motorsport a career, the 14-year old has realistically taken another step towards this by finishing 10th in his class at the Euro. He was 8th in both the pre-final and final, which increased his total points to be only 4 positions behind his Japanese team mate. Fellow countryman Stefan Riener didn’t have the best weekend in his only Euro Challenge event this season, but it’s not always so easy to make the transition from one engine class to another; from one week to the next, having been one of the front-runners at the U/18 World Championships in Alcaniz the Sunday before. He was a fraction faster than Locsmandi in qualifying and still amongst the quickest in the junior finals, yet struggled to find the best set-up at times and starting from row 7 in the pre-final resulted in him having to try to work his way up through the traffic. In the final itself, Riener made up 9 places over the 14 laps, but typically known to be a high-achiever, he’d had hoped to be in the first 5 when the chequered flag came out; not the first 15. It was encouraging for the other junior drivers to have him as part of the team in Belgium, with experience racing at the Euro and international level. IFR team manager Ernst Penninger Jr. admitted that the results weren’t what were realistically possible when it came to the deciding round, but on a positive note IFR continues to be up with the leading teams and look towards an even better new season next year in international competition. Above: Stefan Riener “We came to the final round of the Euro at Genk to finish with our drivers in the top 5, maybe even a top 3 on the podium. Unfortunately, we didn’t have the most competitive set-up when it came to the end of free practice Thursday for us to be on the pace for qualifying. Some of the drivers were able to run with the leaders during the racing, but in the end we failed to get the results we’d hoped. Still, to have three top 10 drivers in the European Championship is a great achievement for our team. It will make us even more ambitious for 2011! It was also good to have new international drivers and mechanics from Europe, Japan and Canada join us for a round throughout the series to experience the Euro Challenge racing.” All race results from the Rotax Max Euro Challenge in Belgium, together with the overall championship points and RGMMC IP-TV with trackside interviews and race highlights - are online at www.rgmmc.com IFR news and updates for the 2010 season can be found on the team's official homepage - www.intrepidforcerotax.com & also at www.racetogetthere.com Home
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