The Kart Grand Prix of France, organised from 18th to 21st April at Angerville, not far from Paris, opens the 2019 FIA Karting European Championship - OK & Junior. In high temperatures for the season and the venue, the Qualifying Practices have established an initial hierarchy among the 147 Drivers present. Young Macéo Capietto (FRA) set the fastest time in OK-Junior, while the experienced Pedro Hiltbrand (ESP) was delighted with his pole position in OK.
The 1198m of the Angerville circuit was new to most Drivers in the 2019 FIA Karting European Championship - OK & Junior. Warm sunshine bathed the track on Friday which was devoted to the last Free Practices, and then to the Qualifying Practices from 15:30 onwards. As the temperature continued to rise slightly over the timed sessions, performance tended to follow a reverse curve. However, the phenomenon remained limited with very close times between the protagonists.
Capietto for the first time
Macéo Capietto (FRA) finally outperformed all of his rivals by achieving the fastest time in OK-Junior in the first group. Credited with an excellent 50''778, Capietto clinched the first pole position of his young career, 7 thousandths ahead of James Wharton (AUS). In 3rd place, Alexander Dunne (IRL) was 39 thousandths behind. Tuuka Taponen (FIN) and Artem Severiukhin (RUS) finished close to them to complete the top five. In the almost summer heat, the Junior Drivers may have suffered more than their Vega tyres. As stated by the poleman at the press conference, the Qualifying Heats are expected to be highly contested, with several seeds needing to recover before the Final.
"I am very happy to have managed to take pole position. My opponents slightly lowered the pace in the last lap and I took the opportunity to continue to attack. I was fortunate to have a little slipstream and that's it! I know it will be difficult tomorrow in the heats because the field is very tough. However, I intend to take advantage of my position on the front row and my knowledge of the track to stay at the forefront," said Macéo Capietto.
Back to the foreground for Hiltbrand
Crowned FIA Karting World Champion in 2016 at the introduction of the OK category, Pedro Hiltbrand (ESP) was visibly delighted to have been the fastest in the Qualifying Practices at Angerville: "It has been a long time since I have managed a pole position! It's always a good way to start a Competition. Of course, the road is still long and it will be necessary to negotiate the Qualifying Heats first. The heat does not bother me especially and I could see during the preliminary tests that the LeCont tyres did not seem to suffer either. We will be able to attack without reservations."
With a time of 48''795, Hiltbrand beat Dexter Patterson (GBR) by 12 thousandths and Juho Valtanen (FIN) by 14 thousandths of a second. To complete the top five, Taylor Barnard (GBR) and Gabriele Miní (ITA) remained within a tenth.
Estimated Timetable for Saturday, 20th April
08:00 - 09:25: Warm-up
09:30 - 18:20: Qualifying Heats