DKM-title fights stay exciting after Mülsen-premiere

Drivers showed high class kart racing

Mülsen. The German Kart Championship's premiere at the Motorsports Arena Mülsen was a huge success. Drivers from more than 20 nations started and showed high-class kart racing. There were nine different winners in thrilling races – the title fights are getting even closer right before the final.

After the planned DKM-premiere in Mülsen had to be canceled in 2020, the races were even more exciting this time..All drivers showed a high quality at the fourth event of the highest German kart racing series. The ranked races were dominated by narrow fights for positions and lots of fairness.

„We're looking back on a great weekend. The team of the Arena E in Mülsen welcomed us very warmly. The race track is a great addition to our racing calendar. This also became evident during the races: Things were always very close but fair. That distinguishes the DKM and kart racing. I'd like to thank all helpers who made this event possible“, DKM-series coordinator Stefan Wagner summed things up positively on Sunday evening.

Nine winners in ten races

The race results show how balanced the fields of the five grade series are. In the end, there were nine different winners in ten ranked races. Only Maxim Rehm achieved a double victory in the German Junior Kart Championship. In the DKM, Sandro Holzem and rookie Kiano Blum won; Juho Valtanen and Daniel Stell were successful in the DSKM. At the DMSB Shifterkart Cup (DSKC), Thomas Imbourg and André Walter shared the victories. The drivers of the German Electric Kart Championship already drove their season finale: On Sunday evening, Oscar Pellemele from France received the Championship trophy.

DKM: premiere victories for Sandro Holzem and Kiano Blum

Local driver Niels Tröger (SRP Racing Team) dominated the events on Saturday. The overall leading driver won qualifying and both heats. At first, there was no way past him during the first final race as well. Pursuer Sandro Holzem (CV Performance Group) stayed in his wind shadow though and took the lead after two laps – and then drove away from the field quickly. Tröger got close again towards the middle of the race though and regained first place. That wasn't enough though: Shortly before the end of the race, Holzem was back and drove past leading driver Tröger with Elias Olsen (KSM Official Racing Team) closely behind.  TB Racing Team-duo Kiano Blum and Nikhil Bohra completed the top five. „After I had lost the lead due to a small mistake, of course I'm happy to still have won in the end. It's a great feeling to celebrate my first DKM-victory“, Holzem rejoiced in his winner's interview.

After losing the victory in the first race, Tröger gave it his all in the second. From the start, he fully attacked in front of his local audience and strengthened his leading position until the end. He wasn't able to rejoice about his success for long though: Tröger drove the race with the wrong tires and was subsequently disqualified – a huge setback regarding the fight for the title. One man's pain is another man's gain though: Rookie Kiano Blum won his first DKM-race due to this and was rewarded for his good performance throughout the whole weekend. Juliano Holzem (CV Performance Group) gained important points on second place. Third place went to Olsen followed by Luca Griggs (KSM Official Racing Team) and Torben Gröhndahl (CV Performance Group). Kick-off winner Sandro Holzem fell back to 13th place due to a technical problem.

Championship ranking DKM after 8 of 10 ranked races:

1. Niels Tröger (159 points)
2. Juliano Holzem (144 points)
3. Sandro Holzem (136 points)
4. Elias Olsen (136 points)
5. Luca Griggs (120 points)

DJKM: perfect weekend for Maxim Rehm

German Maxim Rehm (Ricky Flynn Motorsport) was unstoppable in Mülsen. With a perfect performance he drove away from his competition from qualifying on and dominated both final races on Sunday. With the maximum amount of points gained, the Baden-Württemberg resident took the lead on the overall list of rankings. „This was one of the best racing weekends of my career. I felt very comfortable and started into the races with great confidence – which shows in the results. Now it's about winning the Championship in Ampfing. I'd like to thank my team, because they've once again supported me perfectly“, Rehm rejoiced on Sunday evening.

Behind Rehm, things got turbulent towards the end of the race: Pursuers Valentin Kluss (RS Competition) and Akshay Bohra (TB Racing Team) fell back to midfield after a collision. Douwe Dedecker and Tom Kalender (both TB Racing Team) took their positions. Fourth position went to Jonathan Weywadt (RS-Competition), Jayden Thien (SP Motorsport) ended up on fifth. The latter became the closest pursuer of Rehm during the second race. At the start, he could hold the pace and seemed to have a chance of winning, but in the end he came in second. In a very close finish, Dedecker achieved his second place on the podium of the weekend. Lenny Ried (Lanari Racing Team) completed the top five with Weywadt.

Championship ranking DJKM after 8 of 10 ranked races:

1. Maxim Rehm (195 points)
2. Akshay Bohra (193 points)
3. Douwe Dedecker (141 points)
4. Jonathan Weywadt (113 points)
5. Tom Kalender (101 points)

DSKM: Dramatic races with Juho Valtanen and Daniel Stell as winners

Championship favorite Senna van Walstijn (CPB Sport) set the pace for his competition during qualifying and the heats on Saturday. The Dutchman highlighted his ambitions with a top performance. He tied in with this during the first final race on Sunday and achieved a considerable advance after a good start. But seven laps before the end of the race, things got turbulent: Van Walstijn and Fabian Federer (SRP Racing Team) in second place had to drop out of the race due to technical defects. Current DKM-Champion Juho Valtanen (SP Motorsport) moved to first position and celebrated his first DKSM-victory shortly after: „Of course I had a bit of luck, but in the end you have to cross the finish line. Our speed was good. We still have two new tires for the second race – we'll see what's possible.“ Behind the Finn, rookie Kris Haanen (KSM Official Racing Team) won second place in front of Arthur Carbonnel (CPB Sport) and NB Motorsport-duo Daniel Stell and Simon Connor Primm.

Good tire-management was the key to success during the second final race of the DSKM. Stell started with four new tires and used this advantage on his way to his first victory of the season. During the first few laps he fought an impressive duel with Valtanen, but in the end the Finn didn't have enough reserves to keep up with Stell. „The race was really good. The chassis, the engine, everything worked perfectly and helped me keep up this speed. I'd like to thank my family and my team for their support. Now I'm excited for Ampfing, which is one of my favorite tracks“, Stell rejoiced at the finish line. Behind the leading drivers, Robert Kindervater (BirelART Racing KSW) ended up on third place. Haanen ended up in the cup ranks again on fourth place. Behind the Dutchman, six drivers fought for the remaining cup rank. Xander Przybylak (SP Motorsport) prevailed and came in fifth. A spoiler penalty threw him back though and Primm moved back into the cup ranks.

Championship ranking DSKM after 8 of 10 ranked races:

1. Senna van Walstijn (193 points)
2. Fabian Federer (166 points)
3. Juho Valtanen (160 points)
4. Kris Haanen (128 points)
5. Valentino Fritsch (107 points)

DSKC: Thomas Imbourg and André Walter share victories

André Walter (Kart Performance Racing) was the driver to beat at the DMSB Shifterkart-Cup after he dominated the racing Saturday. From pole position, he took the lead in the final race on Sunday morning. But Thomas Imbourg (CPB Sport) from France took over the leading position after two laps and Jakob Bergmeister (SRP Racing Team) went along with him as well. The two of them changed position at the top once more – but Imbourg celebrated his third victory of the season in the end. „This race was really tough. I was completely busy defending my position. We had great speed and won in the end. That's the goal we work for“, Imbourg rejoiced in his winner's interview. Ben Dörr (TB Racing Team) came in third in front of Lukas Schächer (BirelART Racing KSW) and Walter.

The second race was thrilling over its entire course. During the first few laps, Imbourg and Bergmeister fought an impressive duel for the lead. In the end, Walter raced to first position though and achieved a small advance during the further course of the race. „This was a great race, especially after I hadn't won the first one. My new chassis worked really well and played a part in this success“, Walter rejoiced in his winner's interview. Behind the Compkart-driver there was a tough fight for the remaining places. In the end, Lukas Gridjan (BirelART Racing KSW) came in second in front of Bergmeister, Dörr and Lukas Schächer (BirelART Racing KSW).

Championship ranking DSKC after 8 of 10 ranked races:

1. Jakob Bergmeister (192 points)
2. Thomas Imbourg (150 points)
3. André Walter (143 points)
4. Ben Dörr (106 points)
5. Marvin Langenbacher (94 points)

In three weeks, the participants of the DKM are going to start at the big season final on the Schweppermannring in Ampfing. After the current races, the fight for the titles is still open in all four classes which promises great kart racing.