U18 World Champs - Saturday Report
press release
They were all impatient drivers in the CIK-FIA Under 18 World Championship and the CIK-FIA Academy Trophy. All of them were creating karting history this Saturday in the first qualifying practice sessions in the opening chapter of this new competition. But after all their good intentions and efforts on Friday, they finally got under way in competitive action this Saturday afternoon on a soaking wet track, this after an intense downpour which drenched the circuit at Wackersdorf, situated a hundred or so kilometres to the east of Nuremburg.
Above: Teemu Suninen has been strong in the U18 Championship class
pic - CIK/KSP
In these delicate conditions, the Nordic drivers turned in the strongest performances during the qualifying practices. Finland’s Teemu Suninen (Maranello-WKE) outpaced all his opponents in the Under 18 World Championship by more than 3/10 of a second. After his podium in the European KF2 Championship 2 weeks ago in Genk, once again he continued to make an impression. Behind the Finn, we found the Brit Sam Snell (Intrepid-WKE), the Czech Jiri Forman (MS Kart-WKE), another Finn Matias Köykkä (Maranello-WKE) and a second British driver Alexander Walker (Intrepid-WKE).
Even as the track dried, the qualifying heats in the afternoon served to confirm the good form of Teemu Suninen who was very impressive. There are still 3 qualifying heats to be raced this Sunday morning, but Suninen already knows that he has major challenges coming his way, notably from British driver Jake Dennis (Top Kart-WKE), 7th in qualifying practice but winner of one of the qualifying heats and always a front runner. Amongst the others winners of heats, Jiri Forman and Sam Snell have also given notice that they are strong favourites to come out on top in a very open competition. The suspense will certainly be kept going!
It’s also a young man coming from the North of Europe who turned out to be the quickest in qualifying practices of the CIK-FIA Academy trophy, where all of the drivers were supplied with identical Parolin-FIM karts. Most impressive was Estonian Hans Villemi in gaining an advantage of more than 3/10 of a second in the rain. The driver from Monaco, Charles Leclerc was the best of the rest ahead of the British driver Roy Johnson, Frenchman Antoine Hubert and the Brasilian Felipe Fraga, who despite his heavy build managed to come in the top 5.
Above: Academy Trophy driver Hans Villemi has been fast int he wet
pic - CIK/KSP
The hierarchy was slightly different in the qualifying heats, two of which were dominated by Charles Leclerc. But the driver from Monaco was assessed a penalty for a jump start. So, it’s the Frenchman Antoine Hubert who stands best placed before the last qualifying heat on Sunday morning. But there are many other drivers who have shown that they are more than capable of mounting a serious challenge for the ultimate victory. Amongst them, were the poleman Villemi, Norwegian Oystein Helgheim, the Brit Roy Johnson and also Finnish driver Niklas Tiihonen. No doubt, the contests will be just as fiercely fought during the last qualifying heat and the two Races on Sunday!
