Thompson Goes Fourth in Parma

press release

Gary Thompson gave himself, and perhaps Ireland, a best ever result in international kart racing yesterday with a stunning fourth place finish in the Margutti Cup KF2 event in Parma.

pic by Chris Walker

Racing against 87 drivers from 22 countries, the Donabate driver was always in contention throughout the weekend and finished his fourth ever event in the senior ranks within inches of the rear bumper of the third place kart having been part of a four-way train that broke away from the rest of the field.

The result is confirmation of the strong testing form that Thompson has shown recently and, encouragingly, the fifteen year-old was the highest pace driver using a chassis from the famous Tonykart organisation which traditionally supplies much of the grid.

Thompson had steered his Alonso branded machine to third place in his group during qualifying, a position that might have been even better if he had not missed the last seven minutes of the session due to a misread pit signal.

As a result he started sixth for his first of two heats and from then on combined searing pace with controlled aggression to improve on his grid positions throughout the weekend.

He finished third in Friday's first heat and fifth in heat two on Saturday afternoon. That meant fifth position on the grid for Sunday morning's semi final which he converted into fourth position by the end.

As a result Gary started eighth on the grid for the final against the cream of the world's best kart racers, most of whom are targeting a full time career in car racing.

In the all important 20 lap final, Gary made light work of the karts around him and soon tagged on to the leading three drivers who established an advantage over the rest.

By the flag Gary was an impressive fourth having turned times within fractions of a second of the race winner. Despite the great result, Gary's competitive nature meant that he was actually slightly disappointed not to have secured a spot on the podium.

A podium would have been nice but It's been a pretty good weekend and we've been very competitive throughout," said Gary. "That missed time on track while the track was drying out at the end of qualifying was a missed opportunity but I didn't let it put me off.

"We showed we have the pace to run with the very best and it certainly is a boost ahead of the first round of the WSK series which is the next event on the agenda."

Gary's next race is the first round of the European WSK series at La Conca, Italy next weekend, March 13th to 16th.

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