Hiltbrand takes OK European title, Kenneally Junior champion
20-year-old Spaniard Pedro Hiltbrand became the 2016 CIK-FIA European OK champion after finishing second in the last round at Genk, which was won by Clement Novalak.
Photo by: CIK/KSP
Starting first ahead of Novalak and CRG teammate Tom Joyner, who was only three points behind in the standings, Hiltbrand was the early leader with Novalak dropping to sixth, giving Joyner second.
After initially pulling away, Joyner quickly closed in on Hiltbrand and spent the first half of the race shadowing him.
However, unable to pass, he found himself demoted by the recovering Novalak as well as Alexander Smolyar.
Two laps after his move, Novalak went past Hiltbrand as well and stretched his advantage to 1.7s as he cruised to the finish.
Hiltbrand took second closely followed by Smolyar and Joyner with Hannes Janker bringing a third CRG kart into the top five.
Karol Basz, another title contender prior to the event, had an engine failure in his pre-final and failed to take part in the main race.
Hiltbrand ended up winning the series by 10 points from Joyner with Basz with top rookies Marta Garcia and Logan Sargeant making up the top five.
OK class top 10:
Pos. | Driver | Team | Gap |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Clement Novalak | Tony Kart Racing Team | |
2 | Pedro Hiltbrand | CRG | +1.767s |
3 | Alexander Smolyar | Ward Racing | +2.191s |
4 | Tom Joyner | CRG | +2.483s |
5 | Hannes Janker | CRG | +4.076s |
6 | Jean-Baptiste Simmenauer | Tony Kart | +4.639s |
7 | Lorenzo Travisanutto | Ward Racing | +6.142s |
8 | Ben Viscaal | Privateer | +6.703s |
9 | Logan Sargeant | Ricky Flynn Motorsport | +7.585s |
10 | Emil Dose | KSB-Racing Team | +10.334s |
Another win for Martins, Kenneally champion
While Frenchman Victor Martins took his second straight win in the OKJ category, it was Fin Kenneally taking the European Championship title.
Despite starting at the front of the grid, Martins temporarily dropped to fifth with Dennis Hauger taking over.
The CRG driver only led for two laps as Sami Taoufik was in first next and stayed there for most of the race.
However, Martins fought back to claim the victory with Taoufik also falling behind British duo Fin Kenneally and Teddy Wilson.
The former, only 13 points behind leader Noah Watt in the standings, took advantage of the Dane's low-key race of finishing 14th and became the champion.
Martins missed out on second by two points with Hauger, sixth in the race behind Ivan Shvetsov, and Taoufik completing the top five in the standings.
OKJ class top 10:
Pos. | Driver | Team | Gap |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Victor Martins | VDK Racing | |
2 | Fin Kenneally | Ricky Flynn Motorsport | +0.446s |
3 | Teddy Wilson | CRG | +0.635s |
4 | Sami Taoufik | Ricky Flynn Motorsport | +1.265s |
5 | Ivan Shvetsov | Ward Racing | +1.687s |
6 | Dennis Hauger | CRG | +2.081s |
7 | David Vidales | Tony Kart | +3.610s |
8 | Ugo De Wilde | Ecurie Hesbaye | +3.668s |
9 | Ilya Morozov | Ward Racing | +3.675s |
10 | Adam Eteki | Privateer | +4.071s |
Ardigo claims KZ title with victory
Marco Ardigo added the CIK-FIA European Championship KZ title to his 2016 tally after triumphing in WSK Super Masters as well.
The Tony Kart driver spent the first half of the season behind Anthony Abbasse, timing an overtake on Lap 10.
Abbasse soon lost further places with Simo Puhakka jumping up to second.
The Finn put increasing pressure on Ardigo but failed to get ahead, settling for second.
The podium was completed by Puhakka's CRG teammate Paolo De Conto with the Sodi karts of Jeremy Iglesias and Abbasse making up the top 5.
Already the leader of the standings before the race, Ardigo claimed the title 13 and 18 points ahead of Patrik Hajek and Iglesias respectively.
KZ class top 10:
Pos. | Driver | Team | Gap |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Marco Ardigo | Tony Kart Racing Team | |
2 | Simo Puhakka | CRG | +0.432s |
3 | Paolo De Conto | CRG | +3.023s |
4 | Jeremy Iglesias | Privateer | +4.912s |
5 | Anthony Abbasse | Sodikart | +5.458s |
6 | Davide Fore | Gold Kart Racing Team | +7.110s |
7 | Patrik Hajek | Kosmic Racing | +7.224s |
8 | Jordon Lennox-Lamb | Birel ART | +7.393s |
9 | Rick Dreezen | Ricciardo Kart Racing | +8.111s |
10 | Gary Carlton | Formula K Racing Team | +8.586s |
Vigano victorious in KZ2, Federer champion despite retirement
Matteo Vigano converted his pole position into a victory in the KZ2 race but it Fabian Federer was claiming his second European Championship KZ2 title.
Despite losing out to Leonardo Lorandi at the start, Vigano recovered on Lap 4 and led the rest of the race.
Although KSM Schumacher Racing's John Norris shadowed him for most of the race, the gap was eventually stretched to over a second.
Lorandi crossed the line in third but received a 10-second penalty for ignoring yellow flags, handing Paolo Besancenez the final podium position.
CRG Holland's and Solgat Motorsport's Stan Pex and Andre Matisic finish fourth and fifth respectively.
Despite retiring in the pre-final and as such not taking part in the final, Federer managed to stay in front in the standings.
KZ2 class top 10:
Pos | Driver | Team | Gap |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Matteo Vigano | Comer | |
2 | John Norris | KSM Schumacher Racing | +1.185s |
3 | Paolo Besancenez | Cedric Goudant | +5.664s |
4 | Stan Pex | CRG Holland | +7.025s |
5 | Andre Matisic | Solgat Motorsport | +7.317s |
6 | Alessandro Irlando | Energy Corse | +7.861s |
7 | Felice Tiene | CRG | +8.358s |
8 | Maximilian Paul | DR | +10.838s |
9 | Dominik Schmidt | TB Motorsport | +11.006s |
10 | Michelangelo Amendola | Parolin Racing Kart |
+11.508 |
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