Genk Heats Up
press release
Notwithstanding the fact that true to tradition there will be chance of rain in Belgium on Sunday, bright sunshine and a glorious hot day was on hand this Friday for the free practice sessions and the qualifying heats of the KZ1 World Championship (division 1 karts with gearboxes) and KZ2 (division 2).
The forecast is for an even warmer Saturday, when the competitors get down to their specific qualifying heats! In a pack where it will be difficult to keep a cool head, taking the start up front will be a definite advantage and it was important for the favourites to handle these timed laps perfectly.
Above: Former World Champ Davide Foré has grabbed pole in KZ1
pic - CIK
In KZ1, Davide Foré (CRG-Maxter) grabbed pole position. Having already clinched 5 world titles, of which one in the top league of the karts with gearboxes, the Italian kept his team mate Arnaud Kozlinski (CRG-Maxter) at bay by a mere 23/1000th. Further back the Belgians Rick Dreezen (Tony Kart-Vortex) and Yannick de Brabander (Parolin-TM) performed well on home ground ahead of the Frenchman Anthony Abbasse (Sodi-Maxter), the Brit Gary Catt (Tony Kart-Vortex), the young Dutchman Beitske Visser (Intrepid-TM), the European Champion Paolo De Conto (Energy-TM), the Italian Marco Ardigo (Tony Kart-Vortex) and the Frenchman Armand Convers (Kosmic-Vortex). With 17 of the 37 competitors within half a second, the margins are hardly reduced and the hierarchy could well evolve during the qualifying heats.
Italy definitely took the honours on the Genk circuit. Similar to Foré in KZ1, it was another Italian who proved to be fastest in KZ2. By a mere 3/100th, Mirko Torsellini (CRG-Maxter) topped the timings ahead of the two top European champions. This time around it was the Swede Johansson (Energy-TM) who got the batter of Fabian Federer (CRG-TM), proving that this European title was not clinched by chance. The Czech Jan Midrla (Birel-TM) and the Italian Marco Zanchetta (CKR-TM) completed the top-5 in a category where here also suspense is the name of the game.
As per the new KF1 World Championship formula held over 5 rounds, the KF1 entrants will take on the qualifying heats on Saturday morning prior to competing in the first two Races of the weekend on Saturday afternoon. During the free practice sessions, the competition leader Nyck De Vries (Zanardi-Parilla) confirmed his top form by registering the best lap time of the day during the Saturday sessions. In the afternoon the Italian Ignazio d’Agosto (Tony Kart-Vortex) and the Frenchman Léo Roussel (Sodi-Parilla) then proved to be the fastest. However the top moment will take place on Saturday at 11.00 AM, during the qualifying heats. Drivers and spectators are warned: it’s going to be hot!
Additional information and live results HERE
