Sami Luka Inherits European KF2 Crown
press release
Held on the Spanish Zuera circuit, the final of the European KF2 championship was full of suspense and rebounds.
With one single decisive final to award the European crown, tension was running high at the start. Having clinched pole position thanks to his success in the Pre-Final, did Tanart Sathienthirakul (Tony Kart-TM) handle this tension badly? The young Thai (competing with an Irish licence) in fact exceeded the maximum authorised speed during the start, and received a 10 seconds penalty putting him way back into 10th place.
Above: Second on the road, Sami Luka won the Championship after Thai driver Tanart Sathienthirakul was penalised after a start infringement
pic - CIK/FIA
Having fought his way up during several laps to rid himself of the pack, the Belgian Sami Luka (Energy-TM) was up in the wake of the Thai driver and finally grabbed the title, which he had been running after for several seasons.
On the second tread of the podium, the Spaniard Carlos Gil (Tony Kart-Vortex) was almost as happy as if he had won. On a track which he knows like the back of his hand, Carlos also continued the family tradition. Back in 1991, in fact exactly 20 years ago, his father – with the same first name – also became European Vice-Champion in the same category (known as ICA, in those days)…
The podium was completed by the Danish driver Andreas Hanssen (Maranello-Maranello), who drove an excellent race which saw him go from 31st place on the grid – as the result of a broken engine in the Pre-Final – up to an incredible 3rd place when he took the chequered flag. Further down we have the Top 10 with the British driver Sam Macleod (FA Kart-Vortex), the Italian Antonio Giovinazzi (PCR-Parilla), the Spaniard Gerard Barrabeig (Birel-BMB), the Russian Egor Orudshev (Tony Kart-Vortex), the Frenchman Victor Sendin (Tony Kart-Vortex) and the unfortunate Tanart Sathienthirakul.
Above: KF2 podium
KF2 European Championship Final
| Rnk | Driver | Chassis / Engine / Tyres | Gap | Best lap |
| 1 | Luka, Sami | Energy / TM / Vega | 01:01.1 | |
| 2 | Gil, Carlos | Tony Kart / Vortex / Vega | 2.382 | 01:01.0 |
| 3 | Hansen, Andreas Sebastian | Maranello / Maranello / Vega | 2.886 | 01:01.1 |
| 4 | Macleod, Sam | FA Kart / Vortex / Vega | 6.895 | 01:01.4 |
| 5 | Giovinazzi, Antonio Maria | PCR / Parilla / Vega | 7.237 | 01:01.3 |
| 6 | Barrabeig, Gerard | Birel / BMB / Vega | 7.93 | 01:01.6 |
| 7 | Orudshev, Egor | Tony Kart / Vortex / Vega | 8.961 | 01:01.5 |
| 8 | Sendin, Victor | Tony Kart / Vortex / Vega | 9.021 | 01:01.2 |
| 9 | Joyner, Tom | Tony Kart / TM / Vega | 9.17 | 01:01.0 |
| 10 | Sathienthirakul, Tanart | Tony Kart / TM / Vega | 9.738 | 01:01.2 |
| 11 | Fioravanti, Damiano | Tony Kart / Vortex / Vega | 9.83 | 01:01.5 |
| 12 | Cucco, Stefano | Birel / Parilla / Vega | 11.79 | 01:01.4 |
| 13 | Ippolito, Paolo | Kosmic / Vortex / Vega | 12.538 | 01:01.5 |
| 14 | Maranzana, Pablo | Kosmic / Vortex / Vega | 12.886 | 01:01.5 |
| 15 | Belmaaziz, Pascal | DR / Parilla / Vega | 13.222 | 01:01.5 |
| 16 | Andrews, Adam | Tony Kart / TM / Vega | 14.253 | 01:01.4 |
| 17 | Pajuranta, Juuso-Matti | Ninar / Vortex / Vega | 14.515 | 01:01.3 |
| 18 | Rudakov, Pavel | Tony Kart / BMB / Vega | 15.197 | 01:01.5 |
| 19 | Snell, Sam | Intrepid / TM / Vega | 16.474 | 01:01.5 |
| 20 | Gatting, Michelle | Birel / BMB / Vega | 16.588 | 01:01.2 |
| 21 | Compere, Victor | FA Kart / Vortex / Vega | 19.717 | 01:01.7 |
| 22 | Kostyukov, Ivan | Tony Kart / Vortex / Vega | 20.512 | 01:01.5 |
| 23 | Maestranzi, Marco | PCR / Parilla / Vega | 20.565 | 01:01.5 |
| 24 | Barrera Grane, Jordi | Maranello / TM / Vega | 20.573 | 01:02.0 |
| 25 | Krebs, Thomas S. | Birel / BMB / Vega | 22.976 | 01:01.8 |
| 26 | Niceta, Giuliano Maria | Intrepid / TM / Vega | 27.493 | 01:01.3 |
| 27 | Klinkby-Silver, Max | Birel / BMB / Vega | 8 Laps | 01:01.7 |
| 28 | Ercoli, Gianmarco | Tony Kart / Vortex / Vega | 9 Laps | 01:01.6 |
| 29 | Kirchhöfer, Marvin | RK / BMB / Vega | 9 Laps | 01:01.5 |
| 30 | Sorensen, Christian | Tony Kart / Vortex / Vega | 9 Laps | 01:01.6 |
| 31 | Moller Madsen, Nicolaj | FA Kart / Vortex / Vega | 9 Laps | 01:02.2 |
| 32 | Spinelli, Loris | Tony Kart / Vortex / Vega | 11 Laps | 01:02.9 |