On the Algarve international circuit in southern Portugal, excellent weather conditions accompanied the large number of entrants in Round 2 of the Champions of the Future Euro Series. 92 drivers in OK and 88 in OK-Junior, making a magnificent field of 180 entrants, put in an incredible performance over three days, guaranteeing a long and gripping thriller. Noah Baglin (OK-Junior) and Iacopo Martinese (OK) won the Finals in Portimao with flying colours, Henry Domain took the overall lead in the 12-14 age group, while Martinese is now the leader in OK.

Cetilar Racing double in OK

After taking pole position and victories in all three heats, Joe Turney (KR Motorsport) was the favourite going into the Final. But the Briton had to contend with two particularly fast drivers: Italian Iacopo Martinese and Belgian Thibaut Ramaekers, both in the blue colours of Cetilar Racing. Martinese took the lead on the second lap, while Ramaekers in turn got the better of Turney to take 2nd place on the 11th of the 20 laps of the race. Some of the podium contenders were not as successful as expected. Starting P3 and P10 respectively, Frenchman Louis Cochet (VictoryLane) and Briton Aston Sharp (CL Racing Team) retired after a battle, while Irishman Daniel Kelleher (KR Motorsport) had just retired two laps earlier.

Behind the top three drivers, American Dean Pedersen (KR Motorsport) drove at a very fast pace to climb from P11 to P4. In the top 10, two drivers made big gains: Spaniard Christian Costoya (Parolin Motorsport), who started P17 and finished P5, and Frenchman Thomas Pradier (Tony Kart Racing Team), who climbed 17 places from P25 to P8. Australian Lewis Francis (KR Motorsport) was one of the event's leading lights, finishing P6 ahead of Canadian Jensen Burnett (Forza Racing), who was also excellent. Switzerland's Chiara Battig (VictoryLane) and Italy's Filippo Sala (Forza Racing) rounded out the top ten.
 

·  Pole position and all-time competition record: Joe Turney (GBR) in 55"056 (average 100.11 km/h)

·  Fastest lap of the Final: Thibaut Ramaekers in 55"495 (average 99.32 km/h)

·  Biggest gain in Final: Lev Krutoholov (+19)

·  Heat winners: Joe Turney (three wins); Iacopo Martinese and Chiara Battig (two); Louis Cochet, Lewis Francis, Filippo Sala, Luna Fluxa Cross, Marco Garst, Jindrich Pesl, Thomas Pradier and Daniel Kelleher (one)

·  Super Heat winners: Daniel Kelleher and Thibaut Ramaekers
 

Overall standings after Portimao
1 Iacopo Martinese (ITA) 170 pts
2 Joe Turney (GBR) 162 pts
3 Christian Costoya (ESP) 136 pts
4 Lewis Francis (AUS) 99 pts
5 Kenzo Craigie (GBR) 94 pts
6 Thibaut Ramaekers (BEL) 81 pts
7 Dries Van Langendonck (BEL) 57 pts
8 Filippo Sala (ITA) 56 pts
9 Daniel Kelleher (IRl) 46 pts
10 Dean Pedersen (USA) 39 pts

OK-Junior: Noah Baglin from start to finish

The track conditions during Qualifying were not easy to handle for the Juniors and Noah Baglin (Prema Racing) was able to see this for himself, as he was only 20th on Thursday. But the Briton was impressive in the Qualifying Heats, leading the intermediate classification on Friday evening and retaining top spot on the grid for the Final after winning the Super Heat. He got off to a perfect start on Saturday afternoon, which was not the case for Henry Domain from the outside front row. Behind the leader, Dutchman Luuk Taal (VictoryLane) moved into 2nd position on the second lap after some brilliant manoeuvres, notably against American Devin Walz (KR Motorsport) and Australian William Calleja (Forza Racing). In the end, these two drivers were unable to fight it out for the podium, as was Canadian Ilie Crisan (Tony Kart Racing Team), who started from 3rd position.

While Baglin and Taal were able to calmly secure the top two places right up to the chequered flag, the battle for 3rd place was fierce. In the end, it was Will Green (KR Motorsport) who made the difference against two British drivers, Henry Domain (Forza Racing) and Jesse Phillips (Fusion Motorsport). American Turner Brown (RFM) made brilliant progress from 17th to 7th place, ahead of Frenchman Luka Scelles (VictoryLane), Spaniard Manuel Miguez (CRG Racing Team) and Valerio Viapiana (Koski Motorsport).
 

·  Pole position: Henry Domain (GBR) in 57"251 (average 96.27 km/h)

·  Best lap of the Final and absolute competition record: Dean Hoogendoorn (NED) in 57"214 (average 96.33 km/h)

·  Biggest gain in the Final: Bruno Blanco (+17)

·  Heat winners: Henry Domain (three wins); Will Green, Noah Baglin and Iskender Zulfikari (two); Delvin Walz, William Calleja, Jesse Phillips, Manuel Miguez, Zdenek Babicek and Luka Scelles (one)

·  Super Heat winners: Noah Baglin and Ilie Crisan
 

Overall standings after Portimao
1 Henry Domain (GBR) 146 pts
2 William Calleja (AUS) 133 pts
3 Noah Baglin (GBR) 125 pts
4 Ilie Crisan (CAN) 125 pts
5 Will Green (GBR) 94 pts
6 Dean Hoogendoorn (NED) 89 pts
7 Luka Scelles (FRA) 88 pts
8 Luuk Taal (NED) 60 pts
9 Drew Walz (USA) 51 pts
10 Jesse Phillips (GBR) 50 pts
 

All of the drivers were equipped with Maxxis tyres: Prime in OK and Option in OK-Junior.

Conclusion

Martinese won the OK class to take the lead in the series, eight points clear of Turney and 34 ahead of Costoya, who won the opening race at Campillos in Spain in March. In OK-Junior, the standings after Portimao also changed. Crisan led the series ahead of Hoogendoorn, who had a difficult Qualifying session and only scored one point in Portugal despite being very competitive. Domain regained the lead ahead of Calleja, Baglin and Crisan. It remains very close between these four drivers.
 

Once again, RGMMC orchestrated this major international event to perfection. While the event was exciting to watch from the Algarve International Circuit, the two main days of competition were followed by a big audience thanks to the high quality of the live streaming offered by the series promoter. The drivers will soon turn their attention to the next rounds of the Champions of the Future Euro Series, in particular at the Italian circuit of Viterbo. See you there from 28th to 31st May 2025…