This year's tour of the German Kart Championship ended at Pro Kart Raceland Wackersdorf and provided a good backdrop for the season finale of Germany's highest kart racing series. A new record was set at the finale with 208 drivers. Thrilling kart racing was on offer in glorious sunshine, with the focus on the title fights in the six classes. The new 2024 champions are Markus Kajak (DKM), Moritz Groneck (DJKM), Milan Rossi (DMKM), Maximilian Schleimer (DSCK), Marius Bonconseil (X30 Junior) and Elia Weiss (X30 Senior).
DKM: Estonian Markus Kajak becomes champion after a thrilling final
Markus Kajak (Maranello SRP Factory Team) was already victorious at the first Wackersdorf event in mid-June and followed this up. He took pole position in qualifying and established himself at the top of the timesheets, from which he would not be displaced. He won all the heats with a clear lead and also pulled away from the field in the final. On the last lap, he had a cushion of over six seconds.
The Estonian was thus crowned the winner and won the DKM for the first time in his career. His success was crowned by winning the Road to DTM Trophy. For the coming season, he will receive a waiver of the entry fee for the ADAC GT4 Germany. Kajak was delighted in the championship interview: ‘Overall, it was a crazy weekend. We had the speed to win right from the start and I'm happy about the success. Looking back, it was a very positive year.’ Lukas Scherbinskas (NSL Racing) finished second ahead of David Trefilov (Maranello SRP Factory Team) and Stan Pex (SP Motorsport). The Dutchman was ultimately one point behind in the overall standings. Juho Valtanen (Dörr Motorsport) completed the top five of the race.
Final championship standings DKM class:
1st Markus Kajak (403 points)
2nd Stan Pex (402 points)
3rd Christiaan de Kleijn (353 points)
4th David Trefilov (307 points)
5th Guust Specken (286 points)
DJKM: Moritz Groneck wins the championship trophy
After a small slump at the last race in Mülsen, Moritz Groneck (CRG Holland) was back in top form at the final. The rider from Lower Saxony gave his rivals no chance to attack and scored the maximum possible points. On Sunday evening, the new German Junior Kart Champion was jubilant about his success: ‘I'm very happy to have won the championship. We had some ups and downs with a successful finish.’
Behind the winner, the positions in the final were quickly decided. Tobias Szecsenyi (Hagemann racing) fought his way into the chasing pack with a good start. There were also few shifts in the other positions. Marc Alexander Reistrup (CRG Holland) took third place ahead of Constantin Papst (Nees Racing) and fifth-placed Martina Rumlenova (SKYLARKS Karting Team) from the Czech Republic. Overall, the DJKM field was international with participants from six nations.
Final standings in the DJKM class:
1st Moritz Groneck (464 points)
2nd Oliver Städtler (376 points)
3rd Marc Alexander Reistrup (332 points)
4th Constantin Papst (296 points)
5th Amin Kara Osman (295 points)
DMKM: Milan Rossi seals title win with another victory
Gustav Christensen (CRG Holland) was fastest in qualifying for the German Mini Kart Championship and also kept the already established champion Milan Rossi (Lanari Racing Team) at bay in the heats on Saturday. On Sunday, however, the driver from Saarland returned to the top. He won the Super Heat and was not to be denied his fifth win of the season in the final. ‘I'm proud to have won the championship. I was victorious in five out of six finals, which is a great statistic,’ summarised the DMKM premiere champion.
From third on the grid, Devin Titz (CRG Holland) fought his way up to second place right at the start of the race and held on to this position until the chequered flag fell. Behind the front runners, on the other hand, it was highly exciting right to the end. It was only on the home straight that the decision was made in Christensen's favour. Peter Gunther Mayer (SKYLARKS Karting Team) finished fourth ahead of Carlos Nees (Nees Racing).
Final championship standings DMKM class:
1st Milan Rossi (500 points)
2nd Carlos Nees (402 points)
3rd Gustav Christensen (360 points)
4th Devin Titz (313 points)
5th Damian Luca Zeller (273 points)
DSKC: Enzo Bol wins - Maximilian Schleimer becomes Cup winner
54 participants ensured a packed field at the DSKC final. In the title fight, Maximilian Schleimer (Maranello SRP Factory Team) set the first exclamation mark in qualifying. He took pole position with a clear lead. However, the heats did not go his way and his closest rival Claudia Henning moved into the lead. In the Super Heat, Schleimer then decided the direct battle in his favour - but nothing was decided yet. In a tight final, Schleimer lost important positions at the start due to a number of duels, while Henning led the field at times. Ultimately, victory went to Enzo Bol (SP Motorsport) from the Netherlands.
Henning and Schleimer followed behind and were tied on points in the championship standings as a result. More wins this season for Schleimer decided the duel in favour of the driver from the Rhineland-Palatinate: ‘Even though the weekend got off to a very good start with pole position, it became difficult afterwards. We didn't know who had won the championship until the end. In the end, it was enough and I'm proud to be victorious in my first year of karting,’ beamed the rookie at the annual award ceremony. In the race, Simon Rechenmacher (TB Racing Team) and Jiri Becicka (IPK Factory Team) followed in the other trophy places. Nathalie Kreitz (VDP Racing Team) beat off the male competition in the Masters classification for riders aged 35 and over.
Final championship standings in the DSKC class:
1st Maximilian Schleimer (420 points)
2nd Claudia Henning (420 points)
3rd Enzo Bol (304 points)
4th Emma Felbermayr (298 points)
5th Simon Rechenmacher (283 points)
X30 Junior: Fourth win of the season for Lars Ramaer - Marius Bonconseil wins championship
The two title favourites Marius Bonconseil (Ebert Motorsport) and Lars Ramaer (SIM-ON) shared the number of victories in the X30 Junior before the season finale and this was not to change over the course of the weekend. Ramaer got off to a perfect start with pole position and was not to be displaced from the top spot as the race progressed. On Sunday evening, he celebrated his fourth win of the season. Bonconseil nevertheless prevailed in the title fight, although the start to the finale did not go smoothly. The Berlin lost ground at the start, but fought his way back to second place and clinched the title. ‘That was a wonderful season, I feel very good to have won the championship. I would also like to thank everyone in the background. I'm already looking forward to 2025 and want to be successful again then,’ he summarised after an exciting season.
There was plenty of action in the final race of the year in the battle for the other trophy positions. Five drivers engaged in a thrilling battle until the chequered flag fell. While Elias Tittus (DUTT Motorsport by Fenster.com) held on to third place, Emilio Bernd (Dörr Motorsport) and Tom Wickop dropped out of the top five towards the end. Their places were taken by SIM-ON duo Lias Erbersdobler and Lukas Roos.
Final championship standings in the X30 Junior class:
1st Marius Bonconseil (466 points)
2nd Lars Ramaer (448 points)
3rd Elias Tittus (301 points)
4th Adrian Lorenz (278 points)
5th Lukas Roos (264 points)
X30 Senior: Elia Weiss takes the title - narrow victory for Phil Colin Strenge
Phil Colin Strenge (Ebert Motorsport) was on top form on Saturday. The driver from Baden-Württemberg set a clear best time and defended his position throughout the heats. However, he had to retire in the Super Heat on Sunday morning, with team-mates Jason Bralic (SIM-ON) and championship leader Elia Weiss (SIM-ON) triumphing. However, this did not change the starting grid for the final. The two title contenders and ADAC Sports Foundation protégés Strenge and Weiss were on the front row of the grid.
As soon as the race got underway, Strenge took the lead and was well on his way to victory. Shortly before the middle of the race, however, the field moved back together due to his slow phase and a fight for victory ensued after the race had been authorised. Strenge briefly dropped back to third place, but regained the lead in a heart-stopping finale and celebrated ahead of Bralic and Felix Maurer (DUTT Motorsport by Fenster.com). Rocco Curio (AT-Motorsport) finished fourth ahead of Weiss. The Munich-based driver made it particularly exciting this time. He was only eighth at one point, but made up ground again and was no longer in contention for the championship title. He was in a correspondingly good mood after the annual award ceremony: ‘We had a mega season. Our goal from the outset was to win the championship, and thanks to a super package, we achieved that in the end.’
Final championship standings X30 Senior class:
1st Elia Weiss (426 points)
2nd Phil Colin Strenge (383 points)
3rd Jason Bralic (334 points)
4th Torben Gröndahl (309 points)
5th Rocco Curcio (254 points)
In the Ladies Cup of the German Kart Championship, Claudia Henning won the winner's trophy, CRG Holland was honoured as the best team in the international classes DKM and DJKM. An Opel Corsa Rally Electric from the ADAC Opel Electric Rally Cup ‘powered by GSe’ and the ADAC GT4 Germany team FK Performance Motorsport, which presented a BMW M4 GT4, provided variety in the paddock. The season finale in Wackersdorf marked the end of an exciting season in the German Kart Championship. Those responsible have already been working in the background for several weeks on the plans for 2025 and will publish the first details shortly.