Preview: European Superkart Final Round
| from CIK-FIA | 1 October 2014 |
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The second and final Competition of the CIK-FIA European Superkart Championship is coming up on 4th and 5th October at Val de Vienne, an essential circuit in France, but new for most participants. Nothing is settled with regards to the title and the battle promises to be very tight, especially between Adam Kout and Emmanuel Vinuales.
Historically, the circuit of Val de Vienne, between Limoges and Poitiers, has hosted a World Superkart Championship, then called Formula E in 1993, which was won by Dutchman Perry Grondstra. The number of entries has decreased slightly since the Assen Competition which saw an extraordinary level. The quest for the title is very open, especially as only the best three scores of the possible four will be counted. The 32 drivers racing at Val de Vienne form a very even group with the seedings from recent years and recent revelations. The French make up the largest delegation while the British can count on Gavin Bennett, Liam Morley and Lee Harpham, the European Champion in 2012, who missed out the Dutch round. The many free practice sessions will allow everyone to optimise their set-up and to learn the track.
Two drivers start with a good prognosis: Adam Kout (MSKart / DEA), the current leader, was imperial in Assen during the first race. In the lead before the final lap of the second race, he uses a first generation DEA engine and an MsKart updates by the factory who have made a positive change. His main rival should be the French driver Emmanuel Vinuales (Anderson / DEA), although the latter has already used his "joker" because of a failure on the grid in race one at Assen. Masterful in the second race, he again demonstrated his great speed. But he will be the one under pressure as he needs to win a race and finish ahead of his opponent in the other on a circuit he enjoys moderately.
Although attention is focused on these two headliners, the fact remains that three drivers are still in contention for the title. Arjan Kievitsbosch (MSKart / VM) in his first European campaign, is second overall ahead of Vinuales by 8 points. Peter Elkmann (European Champion 2008), another benchmark driver at VM, is always at the forefront since returning to Superkart. Finally, the triple champion Gavin Bennett (Anderson / DEA) experienced difficulties in the Netherlands, but is not one to give up.
Other talented drivers will have the opportunity to aim for the podium, including Henrik Lilja (PVP / PVP), Marcel Maasmann (Anderson / FPE), second in the 2012 Championship, the German Andreas Jost who was a revelation in 2014 (Anderson / VM), Liam Morley (Anderson / DEA) who had a superb run at Assen, or Alexandre Sebastia (Champion of France 2013) equipped with his new engine (DEA) and who often excels at Val de Vienne.
No. |
Driver | Entrant | Equipment |
1 |
Vinuales, Emmanuel | Vinuales, Emmanuel | Anderson / DEA |
2 |
Bennett, Gavin | Bennett, Gavin | Anderson / DEA |
3 |
Kout, Adam | MS Kart Racing Team | MS Kart / DEA |
4 |
Lilja, Henrik | Lilja, Henrik | PVP / PVP |
5 |
Morley, Liam | Morley, Liam | Anderson / DEA |
6 |
Harpham, Lee | Harvey, David | Anderson / VM |
8 |
Maasmann, Marcel | Maasmann, Marcel | Anderson / FPE |
9 |
Lehtinen, Vesa | Lehtinen, Vesa | Anderson / DEA |
11 |
Sebastia, Alexandre | Sebastia, Alexandre | Anderson / DEA |
12 |
Malm, Stefan | Malm, Stefan | Nibor / DEA |
14 |
Jost, Andreas | Jost, Andreas | Anderson / VM |
18 |
De Oliveira, Mario | De Oliveira, Mario | MS Kart / VM |
19 |
Maurin, Philippe | Maurin, Philippe | MS Kart / VM |
32 |
Westerdijk, Laurens | Westerdijk, Laurens | MS Kart / VM |
33 |
Fleury, Marcel | Fleury, Marcel | MS Kart / VM |
40 |
Lacoste, Antoine | Lacoste, Antoine | Anderson / FPE |
47 |
Marggraf, Thomas | Marggraf, Thomas | PVP / PVP |
49 |
Gjertsen, Erik Martin | Gjertsen, Erik Martin | PVP / PVP |
52 |
Albin, Marc | Albin, Marc | PVP / FPE |
54 |
Zoutman, Fokko | Zoutman, Fokko | MS Kart / VM |
55 |
Gerber, Philippe | Gerber, Philippe | PVP / FPE |
58 |
Focque, Pierre | Focque, Pierre | PVP / FPE |
60 |
Urhofer, Thomas | Urhofer, Thomas | Anderson / FPE |
67 |
Elkmann, Peter | Elkmann, Peter | MS Kart / VM |
68 |
Goullancourt, Julien | Goullancourt, Julien | Anderson / DEA |
69 |
Vandemeulebroucke, Thierry | Vandemeulebroucke, Thierry | Anderson / FPE |
71 |
Chermaz, Carlo Alberto | Chermaz, Carlo Alberto | PVP / PVP |
76 |
Aebischer, Etienne | Aebischer, Etienne | PVP / FPE |
83 |
Vayssie, Cyril | Vayssie, Cyril | PVP / DEA |
85 |
Kievitsbosch, Arjan | Kievitsbosch, Arjan | MS Kart / VM |
93 |
Bjerge, Ingvar | Bjerge, Ingvar | Anderson / FPE |
97 |
Verhaar, Mark | Verhaar, Mark | MS Kart / VM |