FIA Karting: Incredibly competitive Heats at PF International
The Qualifying Heats of the Mondokart.com - FIA Karting World Championship - OK & Junior were hotly contested at PF International in England. After an exhilarating spectacle, Joe Turney maintained his lead in OK while Roman Kamyab took the lead in Junior. The two heats of the FIA Karting World Cup - OK-N were won by Korean Kyuho Lee.
The weather remained fine all day on Saturday at PFI. The English track proved to be unforgiving. The battles were continuous at all levels of the competition, with countless overtaking manoeuvres. The event was punctuated by numerous collisions, some of which resulted in retirements. Two Super Heats are on the programme for OK and Junior on Sunday morning, with the OK-N drivers having a third Qualifying Heat to contend with before tackling their Final.
Turney unbeaten in OK
Great Britain's Joe Turney put in a perfect performance, winning all five of his heats despite very strong competition. His compatriot Ethan Jeff-Hall gradually built up his power until he won his last two heats and moved up to second place in the intermediate ranking, which will allow him to take pole in Super Heat B on Sunday morning. Frenchman Jimmy Hélias made up five places to reach third position ahead of three drivers who were making strong progress. Matthew Higgins (GBR) moved up 13 places to fourth on Saturday evening, ahead of Dries Van Langendonck (BEL), a recent transfer from OK-Junior, who moved up 11 places, and Fionn McLaughlin (IRL), who moved up nine places. In 10th place, David Walther (DNK) had moved up 14 places.
Top 10 in the Qualifying Heats of the OK World Championship
1- Joe Turney - GBR (KR / IAME / Maxxis) - 250 points
2- Ethan Jeff-Hall - GBR (CRG / IAME / Maxxis) - 215 points
3- Jimmy Hélias - FRA (KR / IAME / Maxxis) - 205 points
4- Matthew Higgins - GBR (Energy / TM Kart / Maxxis) - 200 points
5- Dries Van Langendonck - BEL (Exprit / TM Kart / Maxxis) 198 points
6- Fionn Mclaughlin - IRL (KR / IAME / Maxxis) - 189 points
7- Dmitry Matveev - (KR / IAME / Maxxis) - 188 points
8- Noah Monteiro - PRT (KR / IAME / Maxxis) - 184 points
9- David Cosma Cristofor - ROU (KR / IAME / Maxxis) - 184 points
10- David Walther - DNK (KR / IAME / Maxxis) - 180 points
Kamyab and Baglin neck and neck in the Junior class
Thanks to his three victories, Roman Kamyab (GBR) was able to gain an advantage over poleman Noah Baglin (GBR), who won only once. Behind him, Niklas Schaufler (AUT) moved up nine places to third with two wins to his name. He is 15 points ahead of Kenzo Craigie (GBR). Arjen Kraeling virtually maintained his position in fifth while James Anagnostiadis (AUS) moved up seven places. The climb continued with Harrison Mackie (GBR) seventh (+15 places) ahead of Riley Cranham (GBR) +13 places and Alfie Slater (GBR) +23 places. Rocco Coronel (NLD) moved up from 16th to 10th place ahead of Christian Costoya (ESP) in 11th (+15 places).
Top 10 in the Qualifying Heats of the Junior World Championship
1- Roman Kamyab - GBR (LN / TM Kart / Maxxis) - 256 points
2- Noah Baglin - GBR (KR / IAME / Maxxis) - 253 points
3- Niklas Schaufler - AUT (KR / IAME / Maxxis) - 246 points
4- Kenzo Craigie - GBR (KR / IAME / Maxxis) - 244 points
5- Arjen Kraeling - DEU (KR / IAME / Maxxis) - 241 points
6- James Anagnostiadis - AUS (KR / IAME / Maxxis) - 236 points
7- Harrison Mackie - GBR (KR / IAME / Maxxis) - 225 points
8- Riley Cranham - GBR (Sodi / TM Kart / Maxxis) - 223 points
9- Alfie Slater - GBR (LN / TM Kart / Maxxis) - 222 points
10- Rocco Coronel - NLD (KR / IAME / Maxxis) - 220 points
OK-N World Cup: Two wins for Lee
Korean driver Kyuho Lee took an early lead with back-to-back wins in the two Qualifying Heats held on Saturday. Great Britain's Harrison Whitticombe secured second place ahead of France's Hugo Herrouin in the first heat, but they both encountered problems at the start of the second. Whitticombe retired while Herrouin finished 10th. Thomas-Minh Spearing (GBR) took second place ahead of Gino Rocchio (ITA). In the provisional rankings, Lee is clearly in the lead ahead of Zsombor Kovacs (HUN) and Rocchio. Spearing is fourth ahead of Herrouin and Whitticombe is relegated to 8th.
The provisional schedule for PF International
Sunday 15th September
09:00 - 10:15: Warm-up
10:35 - 10:50: Third OK-N Qualifying Heat
10:55 - 12:40: Junior and OK Super Heats
13:00 - 13:30: Drivers Presentation (OK and Junior finalists, OK-N and Historic Karts)
13:45 - 14:05: Demonstration of historic karts
14:10 - 16:10: Finals
The PF International event can be followed on the official FIA Karting Championship app for mobile devices and on the www.fiakarting.com website.