The international karting scene has a new protagonist, a driver who comes from a distant corner of the world: young Kevin Susilo. In 2009, Indonesian Kevin has decided to dedicate all his time to competition, even though it has meant moving to Europe, very far from his country of origin. You definitely need a good dose of passion to make such a decision and leave your parents and relatives at 13!
Kevin discovered karting at 10 through minikart, in Indonesia. It was love at first sight. The following year, in 2007, he made his debut in competition. Although he did not race for the whole championship,
Kevin won 3 races and felt that his early passion was growing stronger. At the end of the year, he planned a trip to Europe to experience the grip of the Lonato track, a circuit that has become a sort of myth, even for those who live on the other side of the world.
Kevin confessed: "I will never forget my first laps on the Lonato track! It was really incredible, though I had some problems with the huge grip of the track." Things began to get serious in 2008. Kevin shared his time between Europe, where he entered a few races, and the
Asian Karting Open Championship, where he finished second in the Formula 125 Junior Open, after gaining 4 victories.
Thanks to his integration in Danilo Rossi’s CRG Team, he entered the French Championship from the second Grand Prix FFSA at Salbris, and finished 21st. He began to show some progress at the end of the season, when Kevin was 5th at the Silver Cup, held at La Conca and Sarno.
2009 marked an important turning point: a new DR Racing chassis, a full programme and a semi-permanent life in Italy. Kevin Susilo found in Danilo Rossi a chance to switch to a higher gear. The Rossi
family did their best to make Kevin feel at home, despite the distance from his family. Kevin participated in the WSK collective tests at La Conca, which «did not go too bad, although I will see everything more clearly after this racing weekend», he stated with surprising maturity before attending the first WSK round. Everything started well at La Conca, with his 16th place in timed qualifying, just behind future winner Nyck De Vries. In the qualifying heats he was heading toward the 10th place when he began to have some engine
troubles. In the pre-final, after being caught in a major collision, he was forced to quit the race. Recovery was difficult in the final and he could not do better than the 30th place.
Not discouraged at all, Kevin is now getting ready for the very busy week of training that precedes the Winter Cup, on his favourite track in Lonato. |
