Intrepid Race News from Australia and Europe
Tweetpress release
Northern Territory Titles – Hidden Valley - Darwin
Strong results for the five Intrepid & Praga drivers competing across the 13 classes on offer at the Northern Territory State Titles with podiums and top class finishes.
In Cadets, Jack Doohan continued to impress being one of the fastest on track all through practice and qualifying second for the start of racing.
The Cadet racing was widely acknowledged to be some of the best racing of the meet with the intensely competitive youngsters duelling it out in edge of your seat racing for all spectators.
The Hidden Valley kart track has it all yet provides a challenging outside row starting grid, in P2 Jack had his work cut out for him getting a good start in both the Heats and Pre-Final. The Pre-Final did not disappoint spectators as Jack dropped to P4 from the start and worked his way back through having another epic battle with Geelong’s Jordyn Sinni to eventually take the win and secure the number 1 spot on the grid for the start of the Final.
The Final was arguably one of the toughest cadet races witnessed in recent times. The lead changed no less than 8 times. In the end Jack crossed the line 2nd in his Monster Energy Intrepid right behind young NSW driver Nathan Herne. Unfortunately the pace-setter all weekend Jordyn Sinni was a race casualty with a DNF.
The Sunshine Coast’s Mitchell Gee returned to the seat of his Junior Max Intrepid after a 3-month break and he was raring to go. He took some time to find his feet again during practice but once he found them he was showing impressive form, qualifying 4th and obtaining the 2nd quickest time on track in qually 2. Mitchell finished 3rd in the first Heat and won the second Heat, this put him in the dreaded outside starting position of P2 for the Pre-Final. He drove a solid race in the Pre-Final after going backwards from the start to finish in 3rd. The Final provided a thrilling start with the first four laps the entire field was virtually nose to tail, it became a driving battle and Mitchell came back strong to cross the line in a close 2nd place. An excellent result in Junior Max and he was so close to getting his hands on the blue plate.
Top Junior Intrepid drivers, Lachlan McHugh and Mitchell Gee both lined up to take part in the Junior Clubman division and both drivers showed good form right from the outset with McHugh qualifying 2nd for the start of racing and Gee out of 4th. In P2 and P4, both drivers needed to make outside starts and made for some good battles through the heat races.
Heat 2 saw an over zealous move from another competitor taking out both Intrepid drivers in one foul swoop denying the boys of much needed points for the start of the Pre-Final. McHugh started the Pre-Final out of P6 and Gee out of P8, both boys again on the outside. McHugh raced his way back to finish 2nd and Gee to 6th, again copping outside grids for the Finals. The Finals proved to be a great race and Gee fought back hard in the final stages of the race to cross the line 3rd ahead of McHugh in 4th. Solid performances across the weekend from both young drivers who will be eyeing the Rotax Pro Tour Warwick for their next hit out.
At just 17, Josh Crossingham has only a handful of meetings under his belt in the performance 125 classes and took to the track in his new Praga machine. Josh qualified 7th for the start of racing and making some remarkable starts charged forward early in the heats finishing 5th in Heat 1 and 6th in Heat 2. With a cracker start in the Pre-Final Josh charged to 3rd early in the race but didn’t quite have the package right for the longer race and finished a credible 6th in the Pre-Final. The Final was another hard charging affair in the company of Australia’s best however Josh held his own and came in 6th place. Watch this space for a driver who has only been involved in running Performance 125 for the past few months it was a very impressive effort.
50th Australian Sprint Kart Nationals – Hidden Valley – Darwin
Backing up after some Top End R&R the 50th Australian Sprint Kart Nationals got underway to more sunny, warm weather.
Straight up in Heat 1 of Leopard Light Josh Crossingham stamped his intention with a top 4 finish in front of Sera and Lehane. Unfortunately that would be the highlight of the weekend for the Praga pilot as Heat 2 resulted in a track incident which damaged his kart and his chances to challenge the front-runners. Going on to finish 10th in the Final was a great but frustrating effort for young Josh who will next take on DD2 in his Praga at Rotax Pro Tour Warwick.
The dynamic Intrepid duo of McHugh and Gee again suited up for Junior Clubman. Mitchell Gee showed good form through the Quals and Heats and started the Final from the outside on P4. McHugh had a Heat 2 DNF to contend with and started the Final from P10. McHugh made some headway in the race to finish 8th, whilst Gee did not have the race that supported his recent strong form, racing incidents left him with a 13th place finish.
Queensland C&D Grade Titles – Warwick Kart Track
Warwick turned on a great weekend of racing for the Queensland C&D Grade Titles, 78 drivers turned up to contest the 9 race classes.
Again showing the dominance of the Intrepid chassis in Heavy classes Lismore’s Luke Garrard and Roy Hall from the Gold Coast took out 1st and 3rd on the Restricted 125 Heavy podium.
In TaG Restricted Light Intrepid driver Brad Trivett was unlucky to miss out on his consistent 2nd place from Heats and Pre-Final but walked away with a 3rd in the Final.
In Cadets there were a host of young Intrepid drivers, several still on their P’s, but Bayley Hall was best placed at 5th and Austin Wells, suffering engine problems, along with Jett Hopkins, Michael Beckton (P) and Max Wilcox (P) all drove well and had fun across the weekend.
International News – Intrepid leads Junior Euro Championship
Max Verstappen takes command KF2 Euro Championship Leader
Aiming for double Euro Championship success with KF2 and Dorian Boccolacci in KF3
June, Wackersdorf, Germany – MAX IN COMMAND - Fought over two Races, the European KF2 Championship began in Wackersdorf and will conclude in Brandon UK, at the PF International circuit, on 22nd July.
Dominating all the Qualifying Heats, Max Verstappen (Intrepid-TM) took the lead in Race 1, run on a soaked track, and rapidly escaped the pack. But although he was almost 5 seconds ahead, he made a mistake causing a high-speed 360° spin.
Above: Max Verstappen
Overtaken by Charles Leclerc (ART GP), Max was unable to get back in front of the Monaco Driver. The young Dutchman Verstappen then took his revenge however in the second confrontation, this time on a dry track, with a lead of practically 6 seconds.
This enabled him to leave Germany leading the competition. “I was really very fast all weekend,” Max explained. “I should have won both Races, but I touched the kerb in Race 1. It was the mistake of an amateur … but more importantly I scored the points and this evening I’m leading the Championship.”
In the provisional classification, Verstappen leads Charles Leclerc.
Above: Verstappen on the podium
Intrepid Driver Program Success
Dorian Boccolacci, the French KF3 driver involved in the Lotus F1 Team iRace Professional Program won in La Conca (Italy) at the WSK Euro Series, his first title of the season with Intrepid Driver Program.
After beginning the year with some obstacles, Dorian has the focus and team support and shown that he is very competitive. In fact, he also dominated the 1st round of the CIK FIA European Championship, Varennes, in his homeland of France.
Above: Dorian Boccolacci
Last week-end (21-24 June), the competitors of the Euro Series held at the La Conca, Italy track experienced the extreme heat of the South Italy. Boccolacci was also red hot taking out first and second placing during the qualification Heats. The Pre-Final showcased a real battle, with the young Dorian starting very well and with a “master touch” take the lead and dominate the rest of the race uncontested.
Dorian, supported by the Intrepid Driver Program, is now in the hunt for the KF3 European Championships.
The Intrepid Driver Program, headed by Intrepid creator Mirko Sguerzoni, is very focused on young drivers (KF3) that will be the future of motorsport and is proud to have the co-operation and support of Formula 1 and motorsport teams.
The technical passion of the Intrepid Driver Program, together with the Intrepid dealers worldwide, creates a permanent driver research program and makes it possible to introduce the best International drivers into the official Intrepid Driver Program Racing Team.
The Intrepid Driver Program tests around 150 drivers each year, and the talented become part of the Official Intrepid Team, including Dorian Boccolacci, Max Verstappen, and in the past Alexander Albon, Beitske Visser, Bas Lammers and Jeremy Iglesias. In fact, Dorian tested with Intrepid at the end of 2010 to become official driver for the current 2012 season.
