Kart Republic: Third consecutive Champions of the Future Euro Series Hat-trick

The KR chassis' stranglehold on the OK category continues in the highly competitive Champions of the Future Euro Series. After the season-opening one-two in Valencia, the Italian brand has now taken three consecutive one-twos in Val d'Argenton, Slovakia and Kristianstad. In Sweden, Fionn McLaughlin (VDK Racing) dominated the Final ahead of two members of the KR Motorsport team: Dmitry Matveev and Joe Turney. And another KR-IAME driver, Thibaut Ramaekers, who leads the series before the finale in England. In OK-Junior, Niklas Schaufler may have lost the overall lead, but he is still in contention for the title. There's no doubt that Kart Republic is in fine form ahead of the fourth and final round of the FIA Karting European Championship.
 

OK: Matveev to start, McLaughlin to finish

At Kristianstad, the figures spoke for themselves. The KR-IAME packages set the two fastest times in Timed Practice, with Dmitry Matveev on pole position; they won 11 of the 15 heats, with 11 fastest laps in the race too; and they won the two Super Heats with Dmitry Matveev and Joe Turney, before taking victory in the Final with Fionn McLaughlin, with three more fastest laps on Sunday. At all times of the day, whether the track grip was high or low, the chassis proved to be extremely efficient. The KR Motorsport team wasn't the only one to shine, as this OK category showcased the excellent work of satellite teams such as VDK Racing, Fusion Motorsport, Prema Racing and Victory Lane.
 

McLaughlin took the lead at the start and crossed the finish line as the winner, just as he had done in Spain in March. Thibaut Ramaekers (VDK Racing), who started 5th, followed his team-mate like a shadow for a long time, before suffering a technical problem just a few bends from the finish. This lack of success prevented the Belgian from extending his lead at the top of the series, but he remains a brilliant leader ahead of the final round scheduled on the PFI circuit in the United Kingdom at the beginning of September. By taking 3rd place behind Matveev, Turney consolidated his 2nd place in the provisional rankings. Scott Kin Lindblom (Fusion Motorsport), Salim Hanna (Prema Racing) and Jimmy Helias (Victory Lane), who won two heats, were the other competition leaders, finishing 8th, 9th and 11th respectively. Lewis Francis (KR Motorsport), who finished 14th just ahead of Matt Corbi (VDK Racing), gained 10 places in the Final.
 

OK-Junior: a solid top-six finish

This category remains highly competitive, with the gaps between the top drivers very small. In this context, several KR-IAME-equipped drivers were aiming for the podium: Arjen Kraeling (KR Motorsport) set the fastest time in his group in Timed Practice, while Noah Baglin (Prema Racing), Niklas Schaulfer (DPK Racing), Bosco Arias (DPK Racing) and Iacopo Martinese (Cetilar Racing) each won a heat. In the Super Heats, it was the turn of Kenzo Craigie (Prema Racing), Rocco Coronel (Victory Lane) and Dean Hoogendoorn (AKM Motorsport) to shine.
 

However, the start of the Final was not exactly kind to the KR-IAME team. Baglin dropped from 2nd to 8th place in the space of a few laps, Martinese found himself in the grass at the first corner, while Schaufler lost time in a very lively field. Arias, who had already won a Super Heat, ended up in 4th place ahead of Hoogendoorn and Kraeling, who could have been aiming for a better result were it not for an unfortunate retirement in his last Qualifying Heat. A penalty pushed Baglin back to 9th place. Schaufler scored points in 11th place, which puts him 2nd in the overall standings. The Austrian still has every chance of fighting for the title in September. Congratulations to Daniel Kelleher for his 16-place improvement in the Final, where he finished 15th behind Gianmatteo Rousseau (DPK Racing).
 

Comments from Glenn Keyaert, one of the heads of the competition department

"In Sweden, we had two objectives: to stay in the race for the two Champions of the Future Euro Series titles and to prepare in the best possible conditions for the final round of the FIA Karting European Championships in OK and OK-Junior. We have achieved our objectives. The KR Global Motorsport Company continues to enjoy very good momentum in OK, as we are unbeaten in this series in 2024. Thibaut Ramaekers and Joe Turney both have a good chance of being crowned champions this season, while Fionn McLaughlin has moved up to 4th place. In OK-Junior, Niklas Schaufler and the DPK Racing team will have to be counted on to fight for the championship crown. Our KR-IAME packages performed well on the Kristianstad circuit, so we'll be making sure we stay competitive at the European Championship and we're all focused on this next event.”