Dutch driver Beitske Visser lived an experience that many young karters can only dream about: to race on the famed Monaco circuit - around the famous harbour - that each year reproduces the little world of F1 and where several legendary drivers triumphed. After an impressive performance on the dry track, unfortunately she had a spark plug problem during the KZ2 final, which was disrupted by the rain.
Beitske Visser felt a lot of emotions when she discovered the Monaco Kart Cup circuit, laid out around the Principality's harbour. The kart circuit borrows part of the prestigious F1 Grand Prix track, some turns from Rascasse to Bureau de Tabac, passing through the Swimming Pool chicane. "Racing here, in front of so much public, it was something magical, but also very difficult. The track is very narrow and you can make no mistakes, otherwise you end up crashing straight into the barriers that surround the course.
"Unlike most of my rivals, it was my first time on this track. In these conditions, setting the 8th best time in timed qualifying, just a few tenths of a second behind the leaders was quite a nice surprise".
Exactly one week after her victory in the general standings of the WSK Master Series , Beitske Visser impressed observers again by proving to be faster than her illustrious team mates Bas Lammers and Jérémy Iglesias already in her second qualifying heats. "I lost a few places at the start of the first heat and could not go further than 8th. But in the second heat, I made a very good start. I passed drivers such as Patrik Hajek or my team mates Jérémy Iglesias and Bas Lammers, who usually race in the higher category, KZ1. Once I was second, I even managed to reach the leader towards the end of the race".
"Beitske has a huge capacity to make very fast progress", her team confirmed. "Not only did she pass Lammers, who has just won the World Cup and the European Championship, but she also drove faster than him. She is very determined and she has great driving skills".
On Sunday afternoon, the rain made its appearance and forced the race direction to stop the pre-final with the red flag. "The track became very slippery. We had a lot of difficulties to be fast out of some turns. I really hoped I could fight for a podium on the dry track, but we were no longer equally effective with rain tyres. In addition to that, I had a small engine problem during the final. I started to loose ground and I finally slipped down to 13th". At the wheel of her Intrepid kart motorised by Tec-Sav TM, the young Dutch promise would have deserved a better result, but Monaco always reserves many surprises... just like in F1 !
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