Basz wins thrilling European Championship opener, Watt dominates junior class
Reigning CIK-FIA World Champion Karol Basz emerged victorious in an eventful OK-class final of the first European Championship round at Zuera, outduelling Tom Joyner for the win.
Photo by: Press.net Images
Joyner, who topped qualifying, the heats and the pre-final, was the early leader but Basz went past him on Lap 3, only to fall back behind a few laps later after running slightly wide on the kerbs.
Logan Sargeant had a flying start from eighth to sit third, only to be overtaken by former junior rivals Christian Lundgaard and Marta Garcia.
The latter duo closely followed the leader but the order remained unchanged until the final stages.
Basz finally pulled off another overtake on Joyner on Lap 15, but Joyner retook the spot a corner later.
Still, the persistent Polish driver claimed the lead again on the same lap, with Joyner also losing out to Garcia and Lundgaard.
As the battles raged on behind him, Basz checked out, comfortably taking the win - while Lundgaard passed Garcia on the final lap.
The Spaniard was nearly edged out of the podium by Joyner but the duo ended up making contact and the Briton spun out.
Sargeant took fourth as a result, with Hannes Janker completing the top five.
OK class top 10:
Pos. | Driver | Team | Gap |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Karol Basz | Kosmic Racing | |
2 | Christian Lundgaard | Ricciardo Kart | +2.427s |
3 | Marta Garcia Lopez | Vicente Marquez | +3.150s |
4 | Logan Sargeant | Ricky Flynn Motorsport | +3.190s |
5 | Hannes Janker | CRG | +3.439s |
6 | Bent Viscaal | KSM Schumacher Racing | +3.651s |
7 | Alexander Smolyar | Ward Racing | +3.778s |
8 | Clement Novalak | Tony Kart Racing Team | +9.410s |
9 | Martijn van Leeuwen | Birel ART | +9.834s |
10 | Alexandre Gadois | VDK Racing | +10.709s |
Watt unbeatable in OKJ
Noah Watt, 13, kicked off his European Championship campaign with a dominant victory at the Spanish track.
The Dane started from pole alongside Fin Kenneally and Watt comfortably led the entire race.
He quickly separated himself from a quartet of chasers in Kenneally, Isaac Blomqvist, Caio Collet and Ivan Shvetsov.
It was Blomqvist initially running second, holding off an early overtaking attempt from Collet.
The Brazilian Birel ART driver managed to sneak past next time around, and pulled away from the rest to secure second.
Despite dropping as low as fifth at one point, Blomqvist completed the podium, followed by Kenneally and Timothy Peisselon, who stole fifth from Shvetsov.
Moroccan youngster Sami Taoufik, qualifying pace-setter and three-time heat winner, was forced to retire with engine issues in the pre-final.
OKJ class top 10:
Pos. | Driver | Team | Gap |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Noah Watt | Baby Race | |
2 | Caio Collet | Birel ART | +3.797s |
3 | Isac Blomqvist | Ward Racing | +6.868s |
4 | Fin Kenneally | Ricky Flynn Motorsport | +7.090s |
5 | Timothy Peisselon | Ricky Flynn Motorsport | +7.626s |
6 | Ivan Shvetsov | Ward Racing | +8.479s |
7 | Charles Milesi | Tony Kart Racing Team | +8.485s |
8 | Mikhail Simonov | Ward Racing | +8.916s |
9 | Esteban Muth | CRG | +10.497s |
10 | Dennis Hauger | CRG | +11.720s |
Lights-to-flag KZ win for Hajek
Czech driver Patrik Hajek won the second round of the European Championship in the KZ class.
Starting from pole after having also won the pre-final, the Kosmic driver was closely followed by Jeremy Iglesias and Round 1 winner Marco Ardigo.
With no overtaking manoeuvres, the trio crossed the line in the same order.
Sodikart factory drivers Anthony Abbasse and Bas Lammers completed the top five, the latter impressively recovering from 16th on the grid.
KZ class top 10:
Pos. | Driver | Team | Gap |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Patrik Hajek | Kosmic Racing Dept | |
2 | Jeremy Iglesias | Privateer | +0.619s |
3 | Marco Ardigo | Tony Kart Racing Team | +1.002s |
4 | Anthony Abbasse | Sodikart | +4.720s |
5 | Bas Lammers | Sodikart | +5.255s |
6 | Simo Puhakka | CRG | +5.504s |
7 | Jordon Lennox-Lamb | Birel ART | +5.708s |
8 | Douglas Lundberg | Mach 1 Motorsport | +6.740s |
9 | Lorenzo Camplese | Parolin Racing Kart | +6.994s |
10 | Stan Pex | CRG Holland | +7.206s |
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