New Faces On Podium At Euro MAX Challenge
| press release | 29 May 2013 |
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- Lars Lamborelle takes last-minute Win in junior class
- Harry Webb wins first senior race
- Xen De Ruwe takes the double in DD2
- Alessandro Manetti celebrates home victory
From 20th to 26th of May 2013 Italy marked the second stop of the ROTAX MAX Euro Challenge 2013. All
told 170 participants subscribed for the event, which took place on the wonderful karting circuit "7 Laghi" at
Castelletto Di Branduzzo. As its name implies (seven lakes) the 1.256 metres long track is situated right
within a lake district not too far away from Milan.
"After Pomposa 2003, Lonato 2006 and Busca 2009 the time was ripe to return to the sporting and
economical home of kart racing. It’s great to see so many Italian drivers joining us for this best ever entry
for a second round of the Euro Challenge,” said CEO Roland Geidel from RGMMC.
Having a look at the competition, the opening round winners aimed to prove their performance again: With
his triumph at Genk (BEL) Lando Norris (RL Racing Dept UK) was favourite in the junior category, same
applied to the reigning ROTAX World Champion Charlie Eastwood (Strawberry Racing) in senior class. The
flying Finn Miika Laiho (MPT Racing) was expected to confirm his win in DD2 category and last but not least
Masters driver Florent Lambert (Tatum Racing) was aiming for a repetition of his success in Belgium.
Yet the favourites were not supposed to have an easy time of it. Karting manufacturer CRG announced its
participation and sent its official factory drivers to Castelletto. The reigning KF2 World Cup champion Felice
Tiene and his teammate Max Verstappen (KF2 World Cup Vice Champion) entered in the senior category.
In DD2 Jordan Lennox Lamb, last year's KZ2 World Cup Champion took the challenge and represented the
CRG colours. But there were even more popular names from past and present worth a mention: Simas
Juodvirsis (Energy Racing LT) from Lithuania took the title in DD2 class 2011 and underlined his skills 2012
by winning the European Championship and the famous SKUSA Super Nationals in KZ2. In Italy he gave his
comeback in the ROTAX MAX Euro Challenge, aiming to tie in with his latest success. Finally karting legend
Alessandro Manetti started in the DD2 Masters on a Praga chassis for the team of Josh Hart Racing.
All told the ingredients promised a very exciting show at "7Laghi", which in the end nobody was
disappointed of. Even weather was almost perfect. After a sunny week of testing it kept dry until the
decisive qualifying practice. Only for the 22 qualifying heats on Saturday the Italian weather changed
dramatically: The sunny summer weather was gone and replaced by fresh temperatures and rainy
conditions, which undid the entire testing work, turning the qualifying heats into an open business, which
mixed up the classifications. At last summer came back on Sunday and provided best racing conditions for
the final phase, bringing up some new faces onto the podium.
MAX Junior: Lamborelle takes Last-Minute Win
Jack Bartholomew (Coles Racing) from the UK and Austria's Thomas Preining (Protrain Racing) were the
quickest men in their qualifying groups, setting the first benchmarks of the 49 juniors. Yet Bartholomew
was a little bit quicker than the rest of the grid, taking pole position for the heats ahead of Thomas Preining
and Connor Hall (Strawberry Racing). Championship leader Lando Norris (RL Racing Dept UK) had to be
satisfied with place six in the end.
During the rainy heats on Saturday Estonia's Juri Vips (Strawberry Racing) as well as the UK youngsters
Guan Yu Zhou (Strawberry Racing), Josh Price (Coles Racing) and Lando Norris shared the wins. Yet Zhou
did the most outstanding job, winning two races and gaining a third place as well, which put him on pole
position for the prefinal. Behind him Josh Price (Coles Racing) and Jack Bartholomew took positions two
and three, though not winning a race. Norris impressed with two wins, but after finishing only tenth in his
last heat he dropped back to fourth place in the overall classification. Juri Vips ended up on place eight,
since a 15th place in his last heat ruined his chances of a better position.
It was Jack Bartholomew, starting best for the prefinal. But he was given a hard time, as he had to deal
with a larger group of chasers like Lando Norris, Guan Yu Zhou and Winter Cup winner Connor Hall.
Especially the Tony Kart duo proved to be the fastest on track, making its way through the pile. It did not
take long until Zhou and Hall were listed first and second. Until the very end the Strawberry teammates
fought for the victory and finally it was Zhou, taking the triumph close ahead of Hall. Behind these two
Bartholomew and Norris were struggling for third position, which led to a collision in the very last lap. As a
result Bartholomew crossed the line only in 16th position while Norris was classified 32. Luck was on
Belgium's Max Timmermann (Team TKP) side who inherited the third place in the end.
The juniors final began with a heavy collision, ending up in large pile-up. Most lucky man was Denmark’s
Mathias Kristensen (RS Competition), who avoided the pile up cleverly and boosted himself to the top. But
the Race Director immediately neutralised the race by a slow phase in order to clear the track again. Just
after the race was continued Zhou and Hall overtook Kristensen, who had been leading the grid throughout
the yellow phase. From now on it seemed as if the double win for the Tony Kart drivers was only a matter
of form. But in the very last lap both started to duel and had a slight contact. That enabled Lars Lamborelle
(DFK) to close the gap rapidly – and even more: The Dutchman did not hesitate and overtook the
quarrelling Strawberry teammates only a few metres before the finish line and won the dramatic race to his
own surprise. Hall saved place two while Zhou even missed podium by leaving third place to Kristensen.
"What a race! I really did not expect to win, as the leaders were too far away. But when I saw them
fighting in the very last lap I got my chance and seized it", stated Lamborelle afterwards. Along with the
winner it was Connor Hall who left the event a happy man. The driver from the UK took the lead in the
championship by 170 points. Guan Yu Zhou (137 points) in second place ahead of Max Timmermanns (132
points).
MAX Senior: Webb celebrates first Senior Win
In senior category the reigning junior world champion Harry Webb (Strawberry Racing) drove the best time
in qualifying – not only in his group but in the overall grid of 76 drivers as well. Pierce Lehane (Dan Hollland
Racing) was quickest in his group, managing place two in the total ranking. Less lucky was Jack Weprin
(Dan Holland Racing), being fastest in his session, but finally only ending up on place eight. The fresh
crowned double winner from the KZ European Championship at Wackersdorf, Max Verstappen (CRG SPA),
set the seventh fastest time and in doing so placed his CRG kart only a few positions ahead of the
championship leader Charlie Eastwood (Strawberry Racing), who completed the top ten.
On rainy Saturday the seniors had to complete ten heats, which finally saw five different winners. Jiri
Forman (Protrain Racing) and Petr Bezel (MS Kart Racing Team) both from the Czech Republic took a win
in their heats, while Dutchman Max Verstappen and qualifying winner Harry Webb crossed the finish line on
the very top twice. But yet none of them were able to keep up with Sweden's Philip Morin (Dan Holland
Racing). The FA driver left no doubt and won four heats on the wet track and in doing so reached the pole
position for the prefinal on Sunday. Right behind him Max Verstappen started from second place just in
front of Harry Webb, Charlie Eastwood, Jiri Forman and Petr Bezel.
With a brilliant start CRG factory driver Max Verstappen opened the prefinal, which boosted him to the very
top. Yet the Dutchman was far away from having an easy time of it. At first it was Philip Morin taking the
lead from Verstappen, who himself even dropped back to fourth position. But Morin was not safe in front,
too. Although the pole setter was leading quite a few laps, he finally could not keep the pace and saw the
chequered flag in fourth place. So Harry Webb proved to be quickest again, gaining the lead and controlling
it up to the finish line. Behind him Verstappen still managed a good second position in front of Charlie
Eastwood.
Harry Webb and Max Verstappen were the protagonists of the final. After a turbulent first lap, which saw
Charlie Eastwood being pushed off the track, finally ending up on eighth place, the rest of the grid soon
lost contact to the leading duo. During the whole race distance Webb and Verstappen seemed to have a
ceasefire. But when the race approached the end Verstappen found a way to overtake Webb. The latter did
not settle for this and struck back only one lap later. From now on he did not leave any doubt and took the
victory closely ahead of Verstappen. In third position reigning European vice champion Edward Brand
(Intrepid Driver Program), started from seventh position, became best of the chasing drivers by finishing
third on the podium.
During the prize giving Harry Webb was delighted after his win in the senior race: "It was no easy race but
I knew that we had the speed to succeed – even when Verstappen overtook me. I am sure there is more to
come. Now I am looking forward to the next round at PF, which will be on my home ground." When it
goes to the third round the Tony Kart driver will arrive as the new championship leader, having 168 points
Webb is ranking ahead of Eastwood (164 points) and Morin (148 points).
DD2: Xen De Ruwe takes the Double
In DD2 category CRG factory driver Jordan Lennox Lamb (CRG SPA) dominated the free practice sessions
and seemed to be a favourite for the pole position in qualifying. But things turned out differently. The
driver from the UK indeed was the fastest man on track, though only in his group. His time of 47.913
seconds was not good enough for the total ranking, where he was only listed in fourth position. The second
qualifying group was the one setting the pace – first and foremost Xen de Ruwe (FK Racing Team AB Ltd),
taking the absolute best time. Following him opening round winner Miika Laiho (MPT Racing) and reigning
senior champion Sean Babington (Dan Holland Racing) completed the top three positions.
The rainy heats did not go according to plan for Xen de Ruwe (FK Racing Team AB Ltd), who did show a
constant performance but was not able to win any race in the end. This made him second in the ranking
after the heats. On the other hand the Frenchman Alexandre Finkelstein (MD Competition) and Sean
Babington (Dan Holland Racing) felt quite comfortable on the slippery track and took one victory each.
They were rewarded with place three (Finkelstein) and five (Babington) in the overall classification.
Reigning world champion Ben Cooper (KMS Europe) was successful two times, but lost one of his wins after
being disqualified for technical reasons. That led to place 21 on the starting grid. So there was one man to
be beaten: Lithuania's Simas Juodvirsis (Energy Racing LT). The former DD2 champion gave a brilliant
comeback to the Euro Challenge by winning all of his three heats in a dominant way, which made him pole
setter for the prefinal on Sunday.
Starting from first row Xen de Ruwe had the best start in prefinal, putting him in the lead. Behind him
Simas Juodvirsis and Alexandre Finkelstein did their best in order to follow the man from Belgium. But the
FK driver was too fast this time, controlling the race up to the finish line easily. As for Finkelstein he finally
did not make it up to the top three. He lost one position after the other and finished in eighth place.
Second placed Juodvirsis on the other hand was set under pressure by Hungary's Ferenc Kancsar (KMS
Europe) until the very last lap. Yet the man from Lithuania did not make any mistake, finally bringing home the second place. Jordan Lennox Lamb used the prefinal in order to improve his bad starting position
successfully. He climbed up from 18th position to a respectable ninth place.
The prefinal winner Xen de Ruwe proved his great performance in the final. After a perfect start the Belgian
headed away from the grid and made his double win complete. Simas Juodvirsis was not that lucky this
time. He was not able to keep the pace and finally missed the podium by finishing in fifth position. That
applied to Jordan Lennox Lamb, too. The CRG driver had an impressive final spurt, yet the fourth place was
the most he could reach within the 16 laps race. So it was Ferenc Kancsar and Miika Laiho (MPT Racing)
taking the deserved podium positions in the end. "This was an awesome weekend for us. I am totally
thankful for the great support of my team and my parents. Now we have to watch out for PF. I have never
been there before but I guess it will be OK for us again", stated Xen De Ruwe, who took the championship
lead by 169 points. Yet Miika Laiho and Fernenc Kancsar follow right behind, lacking only one respectively
three points in the table.
Regarding the DD2 Masters classification it was Alessandro Manetti (Josh Hart Racing), who reached the
best starting position in the qualifying practice. But during the rainy heats the Italian had to clear the way
for Cristiano Morgado (Josh Hart Racing). The man from South Africa had the best chances for victory in
prefinal, as he started from the impressive seventh position in the overall grid, being far in front of his
teammate and second best Masters driver Alessandro Manetti, who was to found on 20th position in the
starting grid. But Morgado was without fortune in prefinal, dropping back to a disappointing 17th position.
"We really had the advantage on our side before the race. But I got some major problems with the brakes
and was without any chance", stated Morgado after the prefinal, in which he took the second place in the
Masters, leaving the win to four times CIK champion Manetti.
In the final, Manetti really had an easy time, especially since Morgado had to retire from the race after only
four laps. So the Italian took the win on his home ground, climbing on top of the podium, being flanked by
France's Christophe Adams (Sportkarting Formula K) in second place and Russia's Igor Mukhin (Intrepid
Driver Program) in third position. "I really enjoyed racing at the Euro Challenge. It's great to have won right
here in my home country. Hopefully I will come back this season again", said Manetti in the evening.
The third race of the ROTAX MAX Euro Challenge will return to Great Britain after a lapse of 8 years from
the 18 to 21 July. All action from Italy can be reviewed at www.rgmmcmedia.com, where you will find the
recorded review of the event of "7Laghi" powered by the RGMMC Television channel. So stay tuned into the
official website www.rotaxmaxeurochallenge.com, where you get all information regarding reports, photos,
results and live TV stream.
