The first round of the CIK-FIA European Championship will be held at Angerville on 2, 3 and 4 May 2008. There will be three categories: KF1
(karting top category), as well as KZ1 and KZ2 (125 cc with gearbox). Four of the most experienced pilots from Equipe de France FFSA Karting will defend the colours of the French team on the racetrack
of Angerville, which they know very well. Their trainer Julien Poncelet will be there to encourage them and to provide all the necessary advice to enhance their chances of success.
ASK Angerville will host this competition on the circuit of Gabriel Thirouin and will bring together 185 pilots from 21 different countries. It is not the first major race held on this racetrack, as it has already hosted important events like 2006 Word Championship. The quality of this meeting will be very high, since the European Championship attracts many of the best pilots in the world: veterans of these races as well as 5 World Champions and 10 European Champions will be racing on this track, together with ambitious motor racing rising stars, all capable of obtaining good results.
In KF1, Equipe de France FFSA Karting will be represented by two members of Sodikart Team, Anthony Abbasse and Alban Varutti. This season, Abbasse and Varutti will race in KZ2 at Grand Prix Karting FFSA rounds and in KF1 at major international events. Anthony Abbasse, 18, is the winner of 2007 French KF1 Championship. He is also 2006 ICA Vice European Champion. Currently third in Grand Prix
FFSA ranking in KZ2, Anthony is also 7th in KF1 WSK, an international
series that gets together all the best European pilots. In full ascent, Anthony is fighting to conquer his place amid the best
European pilots. A formidable sprinter and an experienced pilot,
with a remarkable talent for speed, Alban Varutti, 23, has the
means to score very good results at Angerville. After a brilliant 5th
position at 2007 World Championship, Alban is still looking for
the good performance he has been recently deprived of by a
series of setbacks.
The other two pilots of the team, Thomas Mich and Norman Nato, will race in KZ1, a 125 gearbox category that attracts an impressive number of very experienced pilots. Karts are very similar in terms of performances; as a consequence races are very hard fought, from the start to the end. The two pilots have the potential to compete at the same level as leading pilots. The eldest, Thomas Mich, 19, has a solid experience in this category: French Champion in 2006, Thomas also had brilliant performances in 2007: 4th at the European Championship and 5th at the World Cup. His very positive season debut looks promising for the rest of the season. This year, Norman Nato has
decided to race both in 125 gearbox and KF1. This pilot is a 15-
year-old pure talent, who has already shown very interesting
resources, despite his young age. Norman will race against the best pilots in karting without any sense of inferiority. Norman is very fast and now he wants to exploit this quality at best to obtain good international results. A pilot to keep an eye on...
At Angerville, Equipe de France FFSA Karting 2008 will attend
its first major international event. It will also be the baptism of
fire for new trainer Julien Poncelet, whose solid experience in
both karting and motor racing perfectly suits the team’s current
philosophy. Indeed, Julien has obtained many victories in karting, two European titles and a victory at the World Cup. He competed in single-seater races, while pursuing - in parallel - his career as a kart pilot (just interrupted). Julien will be there to help his pilots reach the top levels of karting and, for some of them, of motor racing as well, thanks to Auto Sport Academy. |
