Following two days of dry running, the arrival of rain today piled on the pressure for the drivers battling for the Mondokart.com FIA Karting World Championship - OK & Junior and the FIA Karting World Cup - OK-N at Paul Fletcher International Circuit in Lincolnshire, United Kingdom.
Ramping up the difficulty of the competition, the rain brought dramatic outcomes in the closing moments of each Final. Britain's Joe Turney lost out on the OK title with a mistake on the final lap, leaving his young compatriot Ethan Jeff-Hall to take the win, while Noah Baglin (GBR) ran off the track after making contact with Kenzo Craigie (GBR) a few metres from the finish line, having led the OK-Junior race for 18 laps.
OK: Jeff-Hall forces Turney mistake to grab victory
Britain's Joe Turney continued his perfect run ahead of the Final by winning Super Heat A in the dry by a considerable margin, while Fionn Mclaughlin (IRL) won Super Heat B in the wet. Turney went on to lead 21 of the 22 laps of the Final, but there was more drama to come before the chequered flag fell. As the number of off-track excursions and incidents increased, Matthew Higgins (GBR) gave up second place to a hard-charging Ethan Jeff-Hall (GBR). Jeff-Hall made a serious comeback on Turney, who was holding him off by just 6 tenths until the last fateful lap. Turney switched off slightly and went wide at the turn three banking. Jeff-Hall didn't need any encouragement and rushed through to snatch the victory. Familiar with Rotax competitions, Jeff-Hall made a discreet debut in the OK category last August at the European Championship in Kristianstad. His world title echoes that of Danny Keirle, who won his first OK title in 2017 at PFI. Higgins completed a 100% British podium ahead of Jimmy Hélias (FRA), who was solid throughout the meeting. Zac Drummond (GBR) climbed 12 places to seventh, Harley Keeble (GBR) climbed 17 places to eighth and Guillaume Bouzar (LUX) climbed 22 places to finish in the top 10. Only 16 drivers managed to navigate the treacherous conditions and make it to the finish.
Final Top 10 of the 2024 FIA Karting OK World Championship
1- Ethan Jeff-Hall - GBR (CRG / IAME / Maxxis) - 22 laps
2- Joe Turney - GBR (KR / IAME / Maxxis) at 1,383''
3- Matthew Higgins - GBR (Energy / TM Kart / Maxxis) at 3,803''
4- Jimmy Hélias - FRA (KR / IAME / Maxxis) at 12.253''
5- Dmitry Matveev - (KR / IAME / Maxxis) à 18,702’’
6- Fionn Mclaughlin - IRL (KR / IAME / Maxxis) à 19,236’’
7- Zac Drummond - GBR (Parolin / TM Kart / Maxxis) à 22,265’’
8- Harley Keeble - GBR (KR / IAME / Maxxis) at 33,077''
9- Joseph Smith - GBR (KR / IAME / Maxxis) at 37,820''
10- Guillaume Bouzar - LUX (KR / IAME / Maxxis) at 48.921".
Junior: Craigie makes determined charge past Baglin for the win
Ahead of the OK-Junior Final, Niklas Schaufler (AUT) and Kit Belofsky (GBR) were the in-form drivers winning the Super Heats on Sunday morning. Soon after the lights went out for the last time, Noah Baglin replaced Schaufler at the head of the race from the second lap. Seemingly enjoying the challenge of increasingly wet conditions, Kenzo Craigie (GBR) set off in pursuit shortly after the halfway point and found himself in Baglin’s wheel tracks on the penultimate lap. The last lap saw a spectacular battle between the two drivers and it was a pity for the race-long leader that contact in the last corner resulted in Baglin's retirement a few metres from the finish. James Anagnostiadis (AUS) finished second ahead of Schaufler, who was delayed by a 360° slide and was later disqualified. Rocco Coronel (NLD) inherited third place after the podium, after moving up eight places. Despite a 10-second penalty, Belofsky was classified fourth ahead of Zac Green (GBR). Lev Krutoholov (UKR) moved up 19 places to sixth, Sebastian Minns (GBR) 21 places to ninth, and Iskender Zulfikari 18 places to tenth.
Final Top 10 of the 2024 FIA Karting Junior World Championship
1- Kenzo Craigie - GBR (KR / IAME / Maxxis) - 19 laps
2- James Anagnostiadis - AUS (KR / IAME / Maxxis) at 3.887'' off the pace
3- Rocco Coronel - NLD (KR / IAME / Maxxis) at 11,177''
4- Kit Belofsky - GBR (KR / IAME / Maxxis) at 11,958''
5- Zac Green - GBR (KR / IAME / Maxxis) at 13,953''
6- Lev Krutoholov - UKR (Energy / IAME / Maxxis) at 18,616''
7- Scott Marsh - GBR (Tony Kart / Vortex / Maxxis) at 19,354''
8- Arjen Kraeling - DEU (KR / IAME / Maxxis) at 20,575''
9- Sebastian Minns - GBR (LN / TM Kart / Maxxis) at 20,761''
10 Iskender Zulfikari - TUR (Exprit / TM Kart / Maxxis) at 28,421'’
OK-N World Cup: Historic victory for Lee
Despite losing the third qualifying heat, won by Frenchman Hugo Herrouin, Korean driver Kyuho Lee took advantage of the wet track in the Final to score a historic victory after leading from start to finish. He was followed by Gino Rocchio (ITA) for much of the contest but then managed to pull out a five-second gap before Rocchio gave up. Zsombor Kovacs (HUN) set the fastest lap to take second place just behind Lee, while Heitor Dall Agnol Farias (BRA) finished third ahead of Federico Rossi (ITA) and Harrison Whitticombe (GBR). Only 10 drivers finished this difficult race for both drivers and machines.
FIA Karting OK-N World Cup top five
1- Kyuho Lee - KOR (LN / IAME / Maxxis) - 22 laps
2- Zsombor Kovacs - HUN (Exprit / TM Racing / Maxxis) at 0,515''
3- Heitor Dall Agnol Farias - BRA (Parolin / TM Kart / Maxxis) at 4,193''
4- Federico Rossi - ITA (Tony Kart / TM Kart / Maxxis) at 14.414''
5- Harrison Whitticombe - GBR (KR / IAME / Maxxis) at 19,077''
Follow the evolution of the International Karting Ranking (IKR) after the English race.
The next FIA Karting event will be Mondokart.com FIA Karting World Championship - KZ, the FIA Karting World Cup - KZ2 and the FIA Karting Masters International Super Cup - KZ2 which will take place on the Portimao circuit in Portugal from 10th to 13th October 2024.