The CIK-FIA Karting World Cup in Japan held on the Suzuka track has brought in its verdict after a rather balanced competition in KF1. During the weekend, Davide Fore, Marco Ardigo and Sauro Cesetti were in the lead at key moments of the event. Davide Fore (Maranello-Maxter) proved fastest in qualifying practice, one thousandth of a second ahead of the 2007 World Cup winner, Marco Ardigo (Tony Kart-Vortex). Winning his two heats run under the rain, the same Ardigo came out first after the qualifying phases, ahead of Fore and Gary Catt (Tony Kart-Vortex).
“Slick” tyres were in season again for the decisive Sunday races. Sauro Cesetti (Birel-TM) landed victory in a rather eventful pre-final marked in particular by a collision which eliminated Ardigo and Alessandro Bressan (Kosmic-Vortex) and another one between Fore and Catt. Second in the pre-final, Jason Parrott (Birel-Parilla) managed to surprise his team-mate Cesetti in the first corner and stayed in the lead for three laps before having to give in to Catt. Fore put pressure on Catt, who remained in the lead for five laps but was unable to withstand the pressure and even had successively to admit the superiority of Fore, Libor and Cesetti. These three went on to form the winning trio of the 2008 World Cup, Fore thus winning his first major international race with the Maranello team, and the young Czech Toman Libor (Birel-TM) being the great revelation of the event. While a Maranello chassis won ahead of two Birels and a Tony Kart, it must also be noted that four engines of different makes were classified in the first four places, a Maxter beating a Parilla, a TM and a Vortex.
In parallel, Suzuka hosted the single event of the Asia-Pacific KF2 Championship, which gathered 42 participants. One driver was head and shoulders above the others no matter what the weather conditions were. Feeling as comfortable on a wet or dry track, the 2007 European Junior Champion, the Briton Jack Harvey (Birel-Parilla), ended up leader after qualifying practice and heats, as well as the pre-final, before winning the final with an 11-second lead over his closest chasers! Fighting it out neck and neck, Giacomo Patrono (Birel-TM), “Giaguaro Nero” (Maranello-Parilla) and Takamoto Katsuta (Birel-Parilla) fought over the last two steps of the podium and crossed the finish line in this order. Behind this foursome, the other six Drivers forming the “Top 10” represented five different nationalities, with the Italian Flavio Camponeschi, Japan’s Ryo Otani and Kyouhei Yamashita, the Pole Karol Basz, the Thai Tanart Sathienthirakul and the Swiss Zoel Amberg.
For the second time this season, after having been “inaugurated” at Angerville (F) in the European Championship, the speed control system was used during the start phases. Combined with the Drivers’ obligation to stay within two lanes marked on the track until the switching off of the lights, this procedure resulted in clean starts. And out of the ten starts given, the maximum authorised speed was exceeded only once. |
