The CIK-FIA European Superkart Championship drivers will be treated to a rather exceptional final on 15 and 16 September 2007: they will compete on a circuit which has never seen 250 cc karts. Drivers and Superkarts will therefore be on an equal footing for this event on the German Sachsenring circuit. Although not many meetings can be held there (only four per year) it is nonetheless well known for hosting the German Motorcycle GP. The hilly 3.6 km long Sachsenring, which comprises a technical first part and a rapid second half, will bring to the fore the drivers’ ability to adapt to a new course and to set up their little racing vehicles accordingly.
Only one driver out of the 55 entries has a real advantage: the German Peter Elkmann knows the Sachsenring because he raced – and won – there two years ago in Formula 3. His sporting career is rather atypical: after having learnt the ropes in the traditional Karting categories (with a European ICC/125 cc vice-champion title at the end of the day), he had a taste of Superkart before stepping into the cockpit of a Formula 3 and proved to be brilliant straightaway: in 2005, he won the German series “F3 Recaro Cup” and in 2006, he competed in the very high-level “F3 Euroseries”, distinguishing himself with a win at Brands Hatch. Without a contract in F3 in 2007 through lack of a budget, he made a comeback in Superkart this summer and just missed the podium at Assen.
The Sachsenring event, third and final stage of the European tour, will reveal the name of the 2007 Champion. With two wins and two second places under his belt, the Briton Gavin Bennett will enter the event as the firm favourite with the extra advantage of still disposing of a joker, unlike his main rival, Malcolm Crowe. In the final classification of the championship, only the five best results (out of six possible ones) are taken into account. His joker, Crowe used it at Magny-Cours when he spun. To be crowned champion, he will have to prevail in both races at the Sachsenring, with Bennett failing to be on the podium.
In the absence of the Frenchman Damien Payart (who has withdrawn for personal reasons), the other candidates for a good result in Germany will be the Swedes Michaël Wärn and Stefan Malm, the German Martin Knauder and Britain’s John Riley (2005 European Champion), Mark Owens and Lee Harpham. |
