First title decision made in Mülsen

The DKM entourage once again travelled to the Arena E in Mülsen for the fifth event and experienced a highly exciting weekend. The German Kart Championship was already a guest at the 1,315 metre-long Arena E in Mülsen for the season opener. 186 drivers took on the midsummer temperatures. A preliminary title decision was possible in several classes, but some favourites faltered. Only Milan Rossi remained unbeaten in the DMKM and won the championship early. In addition to the race winners Milan Rossi (DMKM) and Marius Bonconseil (X30 Junior), there were four winners who stood on the top step of the podium for the first time this season: Danilo Albanese (DKM), Oliver Städtler (DJKM), Claudia Henning (DSKC) and Torben Gröndahl (X30 Senior).

DKM: Danilo Albanese celebrates first win of the season

Guest driver Marek Skrivan (IPK Factory Team) set a first exclamation mark in the German Kart Championship with pole position. As the race progressed, however, he fell back a little and cleared the way for Danilo Albanese (Dörr Motorsport). The Italian won both heats and the Super Heat on Sunday morning. This gave him pole position for the final and he also took the lead immediately after the start. At the end of the 19-lap race, Skrivan took over the chasing role and was hanging on to the winner's bumper when the chequered flag fell. However, a spoiler penalty threw the Czech back from second to fifth place. This left Christiaan de Kleijn (CRG Holland) and Markus Kajak (Maranello SRP Factory Team) on the podium - Kajak made up eleven positions over the course of the race. Fourth place went to championship leader Stan Pex (SP Motorsport). The reigning DSKM champion had no chance of fighting for victory this time, but scored important points in the battle for the title. Winner Albanese was delighted with his first success in the DKM at the finish: "I finally managed to celebrate a victory in the DKM. Our performance was right from qualifying onwards and I built on that as the race progressed. The team and my mechanic did a great job and contributed to the success."

DKM championship standings after 5 of 6 rounds:
1 Stan Pex (388 points)
2 Christiaan de Kleijn (343 points)
3 Markus Kajak (308 points)
4 Danilo Albanese (268 points)
5 Jorrit Pex (249 points)

DJKM: Pole position and victory for Oliver Städtler

From qualifying onwards, Oliver Städtler (CV Performance Group) had the events in Mülsen firmly under control. He celebrated his first DJKM pole position and also won both heats. Only in the Super Heat did he have to give way to Martina Rumlenova (Skylarks Karting Team), the Czech won a close race. The final began with a scary moment: three drivers collided immediately after the start and the race had to be interrupted. After the restart, polesitter Städtler pulled away at the front and clearly won ahead of Constantin Papst (Nees Racing). "A mega weekend for us. I led the field from qualifying onwards and then took a clean start-finish victory in the final," beamed the winner in the interview. The other positions were also quickly secured over the course of the race. Marc Alexander Reistrup (CRG Holland) from Denmark came third, followed by Rumlenova and Martin Attila Vingler from Hungary. Championship leader Moritz Groneck (CRG Holland) had to retire from the final after a collision on the fifth lap, making the race even more exciting. After his success, Städtler has moved to within 50 points of the driver from Lower Saxony.
 

DJKM championship standings after 5 of 6 races:
1 Moritz Groneck (409 points)
2 Oliver Städtler (359 points)
3 Amin Kara Osman (295 points)
4 Luke Kornder (287 points)
5 Marc Alexander Reistrup (282 points)

DMKM: Milan Rossi clinches title with fifth victory

Milan Rossi (Lanari Racing Team) continued his winning streak in the German Mini Kart Championship. He won pole position in qualifying and was not to be displaced from the top spot afterwards. Things got turbulent for a short time after the start of the first race. Rossi lost it, but after three laps he had re-established the order and went on to take his fifth win of the season unchallenged. This extended his lead in the overall standings to over 100 points and puts him unassailably at the top of the standings. "The start of the race was close and there was a great fight. But I quickly managed to regain the lead and am proud of my victory. I also owe my success to the great support of my father and team boss," summarised the new champion.
 

There were several close duels behind the winner. Carlos Nees (Nees Racing) held his own in the chasing pack and took second place ahead of Devin Titz (CRG Holland) and Henri Möhring (TB Racing Team). The battle for fifth place was very close: Felix Groneck (CRG Holland) and Leo Klok changed positions several times and crossed the finish line side by side when the chequered flag fell. Groneck ended up with a wafer-thin lead of seven-hundredths of a second.

DMKM championship standings after 5 of 6 races:
1 Milan Rossi (485 points)
2 Carlos Nees (384 points)
3 Gustav Christensen (304 points)
4 Devin Titz (250 points)
5 Damian Luca Zeller (246 points)

DSKC: Strong performance lets Claudia Henning cheer in the final

Championship leader Maximilian Schleimer (Maranello SRP Factory Team) started the race weekend with a first exclamation mark. The rider from the Rhineland-Palatinate set the fastest time in qualifying. However, he retired in a pre-race due to a technical defect and dropped back into the chasing pack. The new leader was Enzo Bol (SP Motorsport) from the Netherlands. He also won the Super Heat and formed the front row of the grid in the final together with Claudia Henning. The Bavarian took the lead after four laps and soon had a small cushion. Bol closed the gap again towards the end, but was unable to turn the classification around. "That was a great weekend. I already had the best time in my group in qualifying and was then able to win the heats as well. We had a problem with the set-up in the meantime, but we managed to sort it out. I'm happy to continue like this in Wackersdorf," beamed the winner after the trophy presentation.
 

Schleimer came out on top in the race for third place. He fought his way up five places to secure important championship points. Behind him, Siep Kuypers (CRG Holland) and Emma Felbermayr (TB Racing Team) completed the top five. In total, there were up to six riders battling for the remaining trophy positions during the course of the race. Guest driver Sven Salzmann (Solgat Motorsport) was victorious in the Masters classification for drivers aged 35 and over.
 

DSKC championship standings after 5 of 6 races:
1 Maximilian Schleimer (400 points)
2 Claudia Henning (369 points)
3 Emma Felbermayr (253 points)
4 Dion van Werven (252 points)
5 Siep Kuypers (237 points)

X30 Junior: Front-runner Marius Bonconseil also wins in Mülsen

For the second time this season, Lars Ramaer (SIM-ON) was the fastest driver in the field in qualifying and had the best starting position for Saturday afternoon. After winning the first qualifying session, he slipped up in the second, allowing his direct championship rival Marius Bonconseil (Ebert Motorsport) to leapfrog him into the lead. Ramaer then won the Super Heat from fifth on the grid, raising hopes of an exciting final. The two big favourites were on the front row of the grid.
 

Once the race had been declared, pole setter Bonconseil held his ground and drove to an unchallenged victory in the end. "I'm very happy to have won the race. We had good tyre management again. Now the full focus is on Wackersdorf, where the championship will be decided," he summarised after his second win of the season. He also benefited from another setback for Ramaer: The Rhinelander collided with an opponent and lost numerous places. However, he fought his way back up to seventh position by the time the chequered flag fell. Nevertheless, he no longer played a role in the cup rankings. Elia Tittus (Dutt Motorsport by Fenster.com) and Adrian Lorenz (CV Performance Group) crossed the finish line in close succession in second and third place. Konstantin Titze (Ebert Motorsport) produced a sensational comeback. After difficult heats, he made up 17 places in the final and was rewarded with a trophy in fourth place. Emilio Bernd (Dörr Motorsport) also delivered a strong race to catch up - the Bavarian moved up eleven places. Only on the last lap did he overtake Tim Wickop and finish in the top five.
 

Championship standings X30 Junior after 5 of 6 races:
1 Marius Bonconseil (446 points)
2 Lars Ramaer (391 points)
3 Elias Tittus (280 points)
4 Adrian Lorenz (249 points)
5 Lukas Roos (202 points)

X30 Senior: Torben Gröndahl takes victory in a dramatic final

Max Hezel (CV Performance Group) took the 32Five pole position award for the first time this season and led the 47-strong field after qualifying. In the following heats, Phil Colin Strenge (Ebert Motorsport) showed his preference for the track in Mülsen. The ADAC Sports Foundation protégé won all three heats and was the clear favourite for victory before the final.
 

The final race over 14 laps was highly dramatic. The top ten were separated by less than five seconds at the finish, and the lead changed hands correspondingly often. Elia Weiss (SIM-ON) was the first to enter the final 1,315 metres. Strenge and Torben Gröndahl (CV Performance Group) were in his slipstream. Shortly before the finish, Strenge took advantage of a gap and overtook the leader. Gröndahl also saw his chance and the three crossed the finish line side by side. Strenge won with a lead of five-hundredths of a second. However, he was given a time penalty at the end of the race and was only tenth. Victory went to Gröndahl, followed by Weiss and Carl Luthard (Falcon Racing Team). "We still had problems on Friday and didn't quite know what the problem was. But we got that under control, but I still didn't see any real chances of victory. In the end, the strategy in the race was right and it was enough to win," said Gröndahl, surprised by his success. Luis Esser (RMW Motorsport) defended his fourth place on the grid followed by Daniel Brozovic (Valier Motorsport). After a disqualification after qualifying, he had fought his way up from the back of the field to the cup positions.
 

Championship standings X30 Senior after 5 of 6 races:
1 Elia Weiss (383 points)
2 Torben Gröndahl (309 points)
3 Phil Colin Strenge (295 points)
4 Jason Bralic (258 points)
5 Daniel Guinchard (246 points)

The German Kart Championship is now taking a short summer break and has its big season finale in six weeks at Pro Kart Raceland Wackersdorf. After the exciting races in Mülsen, everything is still open in the battle for the championship titles in five classes.