RMCGF 2024 Daily Report 7: We crowned the new RMCGF Champions tonight
It’s Finals Day at the Circuito Internazionale di Napoli in Sarno, Italy. After a week of hard-fought racing, it was time to crown champions at the 2024 RMC Grand Finals. Drivers from around the world battled one last time to have the chance to bask in the glory and fame of winning one of the most significant karting events around the world. Leaving the circuit tonight as a champion could change your life for the future. For some, it has been a week of success. For others, they are already focusing on earning an invitation to the 2025 RMC Grand Finals. (The National Cup winners are in the photo above.)
We crowned the new RMCGF Champions tonight:
Micro MAX: Joshua Cooke (GBR)
Mini MAX: Zdenek Babicek (CZE)
Junior MAX: Jacob Ashcroft (GBR)
Senior MAX: Vic Stevens (BEL)
MAX DD2: Xen De Ruwe (SVN)
MAX DD2 Masters: Nicolas Picto (FRA)
E20 Senior: Armand Hamilton (HUN)
E20 Masters: Maurits Knopjes (NLD)
But now let’s go to the racing action of today’s final races:
E20 Senior - Final
German Robert Schopian lined up for the E20 Senior Final from the pole position with a perfect record through the Qualifying Heats and Pre-final. Second on the grid was Team Hungary’s Armand Hamilton, ahead of the third-place qualifier of Team Uruguay’s Maximo Castro. Beside Castro, Switzerland’s Phillip Loacker started fourth, with Team France driver Amandine Travadon and Thailand’s Siri Kongrisi occupying row three. Schopian jumped to the lead early in the nine-lap final as Castro was by Hamilton for second.
Using the boost button, Castro put pressure on Schopian early as he looked for a way by. Lap two saw Hamilton get back by Castro with Team Sweden’s Junior Jonsson up six positions to fourth in just two laps. Hamilton took the lead on lap five as Schopian went from the lead to fourth in one corner. Castro moved to second just ahead of Jonsson, with Travadon fifth behind Schopian. Siri Kongrisis and Schopian had contact on lap seven, relegating Kongrisi down the order. Hamilton went on defence, and Jonsson moved into the second position.
Hamilton scored the win ahead of Jonsson, who gained eight positions to finish second in nine laps. Maximo Castro joined the top-two on the podium in third, just ahead of Amandine Travadon and Phillip Loacker. With a host of time penalties post-race, Hamilton was able to keep the win ahead of Jonsson, but it was Loacker who was elevated to the final step of the podium in third. Early race leader Schopian was classified in the fourth position, just ahead of Raul Vargas from Spain.
E20 Master - Final
It was Netherlands and Sweden on the front row of the E20 Master Final with Maurits Knopjes and Jonatan Morin as Peru and Germany occupied the second row courtesy of Jhonny Gushiken and Christophe Adams. Mundy Loyer from Peru started fifth on the grid next to Team Brazil’s Gabriel Rosa as the E20 Master Final got underway. Morin got by Knopjes on the opening lap after his P2 starting spot. Rosa moved for third on lap three, pushing Gushiken down to the fourth position just ahead of Joao Dias, who was up five positions to fifth. Knopjes made a suc-cessful move for the lead on lap four as he regained the top spot and looked for the RMC Grand Finals win and, in one lap, he stretched his lead to nearly one second.
Rosa ran third, a long way behind the front duo, but was hot under pressure from the fourth and fifth-place runners. When the checkered flag flew, it was Knopjes ahead of Morin and Rosa to complete the podium. Emiliano Parisi and Joao Dias were the two drivers who rounded out the top-five. However, following post-race technical inspection Morin and Adams were disqualified changing the majority of the top-five. Knopjes kept the win but it was Rosa in second ahead of Parisi, Gushiken, and Peter Gyutai.
Micro - Final
With all 36 Micro MAX racers competing in the Final, Team Great Britain’s Luke Milward and Chinese Taipei’s Shuo-Ting Chang started on the front row, just ahead of British driver Austin Oman and Lithuania’s Jokubas Vaskelis. Fifth on the grid was Kyrgyzstan’s Ilia Mazo alongside Team Great Britain’s Joshua Cooke and just ahead of the likes of Czechia’s Jan Dostal, South Africa’s Matthew Shuttleworth, Team Brazil’s Pedro Campos and Lithuania’s Emilis Juozaitis. The ten-lap Micro MAX Final was underway, with Milward bringing the field at a nice and slow pace.
Unfortunately, the red flag flew as the drivers exited turn one in a multi-kart incident as several mid-pack drivers were out of the race immediately after it began. In a slight delay, various drivers involved in the opening lap incident were allowed to restart on the second start attempt, but out of the race were Pedro Campos, Achilleas Peruzzi and Anna Makolm. In a clean start, Oman ended the first lap in the lead as Milward was freight-trained and fell down the running order to seventh. Behind Oman, Chang settled into second ahead of Mazo, Cooke, and Vaskelis as Milward and Lucien Smith spiraled down the order after going through the grass and were back in 29th on 31st on lap two. It was a six-kart break away at the front of the field led by Oman and Chang.
A lap later, Cooke was to the lead with fellow Brit Austin Oman second as Juozaitis was also by Chang for third. Two UK drivers and two Lithuanians led the 36-kart field as Cooke and Oman locked bumpers and tried to push away from the rest. Robin Raikkonen, son of Formula One legend Kimi Raikkonen, moved his way forward into the top-ten, gaining 12 positions in just six laps. A two-kart race for the lead turned to four with three laps to go as Chang and Vaskelis were able to chase down Cooke and Oman.
Lap seven saw Oman go for the lead as Cooke went from first to fourth in one corner as Chang and Vaskelis followed Oman through. Chang took the lead on lap eight as he looked to put his defensive tactics to work but could not do it as Cooke was back to the lead as the last lap board was displayed. Cooke defended like a veteran as contact in the top-five jumbled the order. Chang was able to cross the line second, .06 behind Cooke but ahead of Vaskelis, Oman, and Emilis Juozaitis. Vaskelis was hit with a five-second time penalty and relegated off the podium with Oman classified third ahead of Nixon Cripps and Raikkonen.
Mini MAX - Final
Courtesy of two Qualifying Heat race wins and a Pre-Final victory, Team Great Britain’s Albert Friend led the field to the green in Mini MAX. Czechia’s Zdenek Babicek lined up to his left, having also won two heats and his prefinal as the pair occupied the front row. Behind them in row two, Nikita Ljubimov from Estonia flanked UK’s Oliver Spencer, while a pair of British drivers were in row three with Harry Taylor and Emerson Macandrew-Uren. The top-ten on the starting grid were rounded out by Kyrgyzstan’s Nikola Kariukin, Lithuania's Majus Mazinas, South Africa’s Aaryan Singh, and Ramiro Carreira from Argentina.
Friend led the opening lap of the 11-lap Final as Babicek followed closely. Macandrew-Uren was the biggest mover on the first lap, jumping three positions from sixth to third. Falling three posi-tions on the opening lap, Ljubimov was making moves and was back to fourth at the end of lap two. Friend was defending for his life on lap three as more than 15 karts ran nose to tail after lap four. Babicek tried an outside move on Friend but was unsuccessful as Ljubimov was behind Macandrew-Uren for third at the mid-race distance. Friend opened the door slightly, and Babicek pounced to take the lead as Friend was dropped to fourth behind Ljubimov and Macandrew-Uren as things got racy on lap six. Babicek and Ljubimov were working together to open a half-second gap as third on back were battling. Friend turned a fast lap on lap seven as he moved back to third and was three tenths of a second faster than the leader. Friend was by Ljubimov for second on lap nine and on the leader’s bumper with two laps to go.
Making a bid for the front, Friend was unsuccessful and fell to fourth, but Babicek led and was on the defense. It was a five-kart battle for the win, with Babicek scoring the win ahead of Friend, Ljubimov, Spencer, and Emerson Macandrew-Uren. Vito Coza was sixth on the road ahead of Veeti Salmi and Krystof Kyllar, who each gained 11 positions to finish seventh and eighth. Patrikas Jocius was up 14 positions to finish ninth ahead of Nikolai Kariukin.
Junior MAX - Final
Team Great Britain’s Cameron Nelson was the clear leader after the Junior MAX Qualifying Heats and Pre-Final, with Denmark’s Casper Nissen joining him on the front row. Scott March from the UK won his Pre-Final to secure the third place starting position while Team Netherland’s driver Boaz Maximov was alongside in fourth. The female driver and Austrian Ivonn Simoenova started on the inside of row three with Marco Manson to his left.
Two more British drivers started in the top-ten, Jacob Ashcroft seventh and Lewis Goff ninth with Team Denmark’s Mathias Kjellerup and Team Netherland’s Max Sadurski in eighth and tenth. The 15-lap final was underway with a couple karts off early, but Nelson led Marsh, Nissen, Simoenova, and Maximov. Nelson was defending from the very first lap, slowing the field and forc-ing everyone to run nose to tail. It was three UK drivers in the top-four, with Nelson leading Marsh, Nissan, and Jacob Ashcroft as he managed to move his way forward into the top-five. A lap later, Ashcroft was by Maximov to make it a British 1 - 2 - 3. Marsh got into the back of Nelson as the two dropped, with Nelson to fourth and Marsh to 19th after the contact, opening the door for Ashcroft to take the lead. Lewis Goff was into the second position at mid-race distance as Ties Van Wijk was up seven places to fourth to give himself a chance at victory. Team Canada’s Antonie Lemieux was up five positions after eight laps as he was seventh and running faster laps than the leader.
With five laps to go Ashcroft led Maximov, Goff, Van Wijk, and Nissen. With Ashcroft opening a gap of seven-tenths of a second, Maximov and Goff were getting organized to try and chase down Ashcroft. On lap 11, the gap had opened to .900 as Van Wijk was by Goff for third as now Dutch drivers ran second and third. Battling hard, Maximov and Goff lost more than a second on lap 12 as Ashcroft led by 1.804 ahead of the battle behind him, and it was now his race to lose. Goff was back to second on lap 13 but 2.379 behind Ashcroft to make it a British one-two, but it was all for not as Jacob Ashcroft was on his way to his third RMC Grand Finals podium in as many years. In a fierce battle behind him, Ashcroft easily drove to victory as Goff and Nelson made it a British 1 - 2 - 3. Maximov was the best of the rest in the fourth position ahead of Van Wijk, Marsh, Nissen Sadurski, Fernando Paimre, and Lemieux. Post race, Van Wijk was handed a five-second time penalty, elevating Marsh to fifth ahead of Nissen, Paimre, Lemieux, Van Wijk, and Sadurski.
Senior MAX - Final
Team Great Britain started the Senior MAX main event one, two, three, four, and five as Kai Hunter led Matthew Higgins, Callum Bradshaw, Harry Bartle, and Lewis Gilbert. Looking to break up the UK party up front was the sixth-place starter and Italian Elia Pappacena, but there was another Brit behind him as Sean Butcher lined up seventh. Belgian Vic Stevens and Team USA’s Oliver Hodgson won a Qualifying Heat and started the main event in eighth and ninth as Italian Pietro Valdo Pons rounded out the top-ten. It was 18 laps for the Senior MAX drivers as 36 of them were off and racing, with Hunter maintaining his place at the point ahead of Bradshaw and Gilbert, who both gained positions on the opening lap as Higgins dropped two positions to fourth and Bartle in fifth.
Bradshaw took the lead on lap two, and Hodgson jumped from ninth to seventh on lap two. It was sensible up front for the first four laps, but Bradshaw and Hunter went wheel-to-wheel, with Hunter heading for the grass and spinning to avoid contact. Bradshaw continued to lead Higgins, Gilbert, Bartle, and Vic Stevens, who was able to get by Pappacena. Stevens made a bold move on lap six moving from fifth to third to break up the British party as Macauley Bishop gained seven positions in six laps to run fifth. Stevens was by Higgins, and on the bumper of Bradshaw on lap seven, but Higgins was back by the Belgium driver to retake the position on lap eight. At mid-race distance, Higgins tried to go around the outside of Bradshaw and the two made contact with Higgins falling down the running order and Bradshaw losing momentum and falling to sixth.
Stevens took the lead ahead of Swiss driver Tino Sidler, Bishop, Bartle, and Hodgson. Stevens built a small gap as Sidler and Bishop battled behind with Bishop by for second and Bartle in third. Stevens led by 1.4 seconds after 11 of 18 laps, and that remained the same on lap 12 as six laps remained. The gap shrunk to 1.3 a lap later with Bishop, Bartle, Bradshaw, and Sidler rounding out the top-five. With two laps to go, Stevens continued to lead, now by 1.858, as Bishop was starting to defend his countryman Bradshaw, much to the delight of Stevens. Vic Stevens delivered Team Belgium a victory as Bishop and Bradshaw were all over one another. Behind him, Bishop finished second on the road before a potential penalty while Bartle crossed the line third, Sidler in fourth, minus a nose cone, and Bradshaw in fifth. Despite a five-second time penalty, Bishop was still classified second behind Stevens, with the podium completed by Jayden Thien, who gained seventeen positions from where he started. Oliver Hodgson was elevated to P4 in the results, as Max Walton rounded out the top five.
MAX DD2 Master - Final
Unbeaten on the weekend, Team France’s Nicolas Picot started the MAX DD2 Master Final from the pole position with Team Brazil’s Joao Cunha to his left. Row two saw Team Argentina’s Matias Rodriguez and New Zealand’s Matthew Hamilton. Lithuania and France were in row three with Martynas Tankevicius and Charles Seguin while Colombia and Denmark occupied row four with Juan Pablo Rico and Haralds Garkaklis. Kyrgyzstan’s Dmitrii Kofanov and Team USA’s John Bonanno rounded out the top-ten starting grid. It was an 18-lap final for the MAX DD2 Master competitors, and Nicolas Picot brought the field to the green flag at a very slow pace. Looking to get a jump on the field, Picot shot to the front like a rocket ship as he looked to run and hide from the rest of the field. Picot led by .502 at the end of lap one, with Rodriguez and Tankevicius by Cunha for second and third as New Zealand’s Hamilton retired after two laps.
With the top-two drivers stretching the lead on lap four, Picot led Rodriguez by .837 while Rodriguez was 2.2 ahead of Charles Seguin. Cunha had contact on lap four and fell outside the top-20, opening the door for others, including Team Brazil’s Fernando Guzzi, who ran ninth after gaining nine positions in five laps. Picot led by 1.137 over Rodriguez at the end of lap eight as drivers from France ran first and third, with Seguin leading a long train of drivers. At mid-race distance, Picot’s gap up front had grown to 1.4 seconds but was down to 1.2 with nine laps to go as the positions behind him remained unchanged. Rodriguez set the fastest lap of the race on lap 11, running two-tenths faster than Picot as he aimed to make a late race challenge for the win. The top-two matched pace on lap 12 and the same on lap 13, as Tankevicius put himself into a podium position by getting past Seguin for third. Picot stole the fastest lap honors back on lap 14 to open the gap to 1.3, responding to the advancements of Rodriguez.
Seguin was by Tankevicius for third on lap 15, but Tankevicius was not done and was putting maximum pressure on the kart in front of him, making it by Seguin as Garkaklis followed him through. Seguin and Garkaklis made contact, with Seguin receiving nose cone and nassau panel damage as he fell to the fifth position. Picot drove to the win by 1.09 over Rodriguez, as Tankevicius and Garkaklis had a drag race to the checkered flag ahead of Alex Fielenbach in fifth.
MAX DD2 - Final
Perennial front-runner and Slovenia’s Xen De Ruwe had one last session to try and keep his #414 entry on top as he started the Final from the pole position, but Dutch driver Sem Knopjes would look to knock him off. Team Poland’s Dawid Maslakiewick lined up third on the grid next to Kyrgyzstan’s Konstantin Krapin, with Team France’s Enzo Bol and Latvia’s Edgars Vilcans in row three. Team Brazil’s Leonardo Reis started the main event seventh alongside Team France’s Paul Fourquemin, with Denmark’s Rasmus Vendelbo and Germany’s Nikita Gense in ninth and tenth. De Ruwe maintained his position at the front of the field through the first complex of corners and closed the first of 18 laps at the front. Maslakiewick and several other drivers were by Knopjes as he fell to sixth, with Bol in third after yesterday’s Pre-Final issues, Krapin fourth, and Fourquemin in the fifth position.
De Ruwe continued to lead on lap three with Maslakiewick less than two-tenths behind and Bol, two-tenths behind him. Leonardo Reis was flexing his muscles and was up to fifth as Maslakiewick made a bid for the lead on De Ruwe, losing momentum and falling victim to Bol and Krapin, who were able to sneak by. De Ruwe had a gap of .767 at the end of lap five, but Enzo Bol was up to second as one of the fastest drivers in Max DD2 all week. On lap seven, the gap was 1.155 as De Ruwe stretched the gap in his quest for his first Grand Finals win, with the rest of the top-five remaining static. Contact between Krapin and Bol on lap eight pushed Krapin down to P8 and Bol to 11th as De Ruwe led by 1.612 over Maslakiewick, Knopjes, Reis and Rasmus Vendelbo. Maslakiewick went purple on lap two turning the fastest lap of the race, two-tenths of a second faster than De Ruwe as Reis and Vendelbo had contact in turn two in a dra-matic lap and Krapin was out of the race. Maslakiewick was two-tenths of a second quicker than De Ruwe on lap ten to close the gap to 1.257 as Team Sweden’s Hannes Morin was into fourth and Fourquemin rounded out the top-five. With six laps to go, the gap was reduced to .798 as Maslakiewick was on the charge, hunting down De Ruwe, and two laps later, the gap was .408.
On lap 15, Maslakiewick was on the bumper of De Ruwe, and when he made a bid for the lead, he was forced to back out. It was game on for the win with two laps to go, as De Ruwe was on the defensive to keep Maslakiewick behind him. With the last lap board displayed, De Ruwe continued to lead as Maslakiewick tried in the last corner with the two making contact. In a drag race to the finish, De Ruwe won his first RMC Grand Finals in his 11th try ahead of Maslakiewick, who earned the fastest lap of the race, Knopjes, Gense, and Team Italy’s Daniel Giliberti. However, Maslakiewick was hit with a post-race time penalty for a bumper infraction due to the final corner contact and relegated off the podium to fifth behind De Ruwe, Knopjes, and Gense.
And with that, the 2024 RMC Grand Finals have ended. Congratulations to the champions, and we are already looking forward to the 2025 edition of the event.
For RMC Grand Finals Results – Click HERE