Ambitions thwarted for Jesse Carrasquedo
The second round of the Champions of the Future series took place at the Zuera International Circuit, just one week before the fourth and final round of the FIA Karting European Championship at the same Spanish circuit. Competing in the OK category, Jesse Carrasquedo followed his plan to the letter, gathering valuable information in preparation for the big event on 22nd-25th July 2021. The promisingly talented competitor was also aiming for a good place in the Final, but the young Mexican driver's efforts were not fully rewarded.
Three weeks after his last appearance in a karting event, Jesse Carrasquedo was back in the OK category, with a strong desire to show his potential despite being behind his competitors. "With the pandemic, it's not always easy to travel from one country to another at the moment and I wasn't able to go to Italy the week before to compete in the third round of the European Championship. So I had to get my bearings against my opponents. Also, it was my first time racing at this level on the Zuera circuit, which has several technical features that need hard work," said Jesse.
Brilliant progress in all heats
Jesse and his team used Free Practice to optimise the set-up of his Parolin chassis and TM Racing engines, but Qualifying did not meet his expectations. "The gaps between us are so close that even a tenth of a second can have serious consequences. I was hoping for better than 41st out of 54, especially as my time of 1'00"838 could have put me in 20th position if I had been in Group 2."
This setback meant that Jesse Carrasquedo had to make up places in each of the Qualifying Heats. He moved up four positions in the first heat, two in the second and no less than six in the last. The Mexican hopeful was again very active and effective in the field, despite being one of the youngest drivers in the OK category. Overall, Jesse was 36th in the heats overall. In an FIA Karting race, he could have qualified directly for the Final. But in the Champions of the Future series, a "repechage" race is organised for drivers ranked 31st or below.
His 9th fastest time in the warm-up on Sunday morning gave Jesse and his Parolin Motorsport team the opportunity to look forward to the Repechage. Unfortunately, a few jostles in the pack caused him to lose precious positions. He missed out on a well-deserved place in the Finals by finishing 10th. "I only want to remember the positive points of this meeting. I know that by improving some small details, I can do much better, especially during the last race of the European Championship at the end of the week."