NASCAR Cup

Martinsville Top 20 Qualifying

Maranello, 16th October - He had already hinted at it prior to the final race of the season, when asked if his holidays would start on Monday. Michael replied: "No, Sunday night!" By then, the world champion had already decided to skip the ...

Edited: May 8, 2001, 12:19 PM

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Maranello, 16th October - He had already hinted at it prior to the final race of the season, when asked if his holidays would start on Monday. Michael replied: "No, Sunday night!" By then, the world champion had already decided to skip the traditional end of year party and get back to his family in Switzerland as quickly as possible. "Obviously, it's marvellous to finish the season exactly the way I wanted, by winning on my own terms which means we can go into the winter break in a positive frame of mind," said Michael, shortly before leaving. "But in some ways, I am happy the season is over, even if it was without a doubt, the best of my career. But a season like this one is pretty tiring."

After a good sleep on the plane on Sunday night, Michael was happy to be reunited with his children on Monday. The kids were happy too, because Daddy had promised to give them his full attention for the rest of the week. "Right from that afternoon, we went to the swimming pool," related Michael proudly. The rest of the week is also devoted exclusively to family matters. "I would like to spend a week like a normal family," said the driver.

Wanting a holiday and making the most of free time would seem to be at odds with the fact Michael is due to take part on the final round of the karting world championship on 28th October in Kerpen. "Not a problem" he maintains. For me, karting is a pleasure, a relaxation and a holiday. There's no pressure, no work and no expectations, so it's just for the fun of driving. Karting is a passion for me. As I've said before, I just love racing; the duelling, the competition and the wheel to wheel combat. And in karting, you get all this to a maximum. I have dreamed of taking part again in a top level international karting race for a long time now. I guess it will be a no-win situation: if I win everyone will say it was to be expected but if I lose, I will look like an idiot. But I'm not bothered about that. I just want to drive and race against these guys who are real professionals. Today, racing in karts requires a lot of fine tuning and accuracy. This is the type of challenge I am looking forward to confronting again. I have not had much time to race over the past few years, because usually I have been working very hard right up to the very end of the season and of course, I have had to concentrate entirely on Formula 1. But this year, the championships were decided relatively early and so I have been karting a bit more often. For example, last Tuesday, before going to Suzuka, I had a go at it with Jos Verstappen. So now, I really can't wait to race in Kerpen and anyone interested in karting is welcome to come along."

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