With 21 Qualifying Heats on the programme on Saturday 30th April, the participants in the FIA Karting European Championship – OK and OK-Junior had plenty of opportunities to shape a new hierarchy for the intermediate rankings, before tackling the Super Heats on Sunday morning as a prelude to the Finals. Joe Turney (GBR) took the lead in OK while Arthur Dorison (FRA) led in OK-Junior.
In the sunshine of a beautiful day, the wind gradually picked up, but the temperature still reached 23°. An incident delayed the schedule in the middle of the afternoon, but the programme was able to continue until the end in good conditions. The Zuera circuit provided the opportunity for a lot of overtaking, which is encouraged by the comfortable width of the track, where the slipstream plays a significant role. Tyre management also played a role in the final heats, depending on the strategy of each driver.
Some of the events that took place on Saturday in Zuera could have important consequences for the standings of both Championships. The Super Heats will clarify the situation before the highly anticipated Finals on Sunday afternoon.
OK: Perfect score for Turney
The Qualifying Heats of the FIA Karting European Championship – OK were dominated by Britain’s Joe Turney. From his ninth place in Qualifying, he lined up a superb series of five victories in five races to take first place in the intermediate classification with authority. Another member of the Tony Kart Racing Team took second place, the Finnish World Champion Tuukka Taponen, four times a winner. A few lengths away, the British driver Kean Nakamura-Berta, 2021 OK-Junior World Champion, kept third position ahead of the Frenchman Enzo Deligny and the Italian poleman Luis James Egozi. Ean Eyckmans (BEL) moved up seven places to sixth ahead of Gabriel Gomez (BRA) who was penalised for a placement error at the start of his third heat. On his home ground, Nacho Tuñon (ESP) came back to 8th, followed by Alex Powell (JAM) and Rintaro Sato (GBR). Everyone was delighted with the return to form of Arvid Lindblad (GBR) after an injury at the beginning of the season, and he regained 26 positions to 11th place with great panache. Like Gomez, Evan Giltaire (FRA) dropped to 13th after a sanction.
Dorison takes the lead in OK-Junior
The Frenchman Arthur Dorison clearly achieved the best performance in the category with his four victories completed by a fourth position. The driver of the Tony Kart Racing Team is eight points ahead of the Luxembourg poleman Guillaume Bouzar, twice winner of a heat. The British driver Zac Drummond took third place after consistent racing. Enzo Tarnvanichkul from Thailand gained over seven positions to reach fourth place in front of the Briton Nathan Tye and the French driver Maxens Verbrugge in sixth. Maciej Gladysz (POL) moved up eight places to seventh, ahead of Jules Caranta (FRA) +14 places and Lenn Nijs (BEL) +16 places. René Lammers’ (NLD) second heat cost him dearly and limited his progress to 10th position.
Programme of the event in Zuera
Sunday 1st May
09:00 – 10:05: Warm-up
10:10 – 11:45: Super Heats
13:15 – 14:40: Finals