The Qualifying Heats of the first round of the Mondokart.com FIA Karting European Championship - KZ, KZ2 & KZ2 Masters began in fine, warm weather on Friday afternoon and Saturday morning, but ended in the rain late on Saturday afternoon at the Spanish circuit of MotorLand Aragón. On Saturday evening, Tom Leuillet (FRA) in KZ, Matteo Sprigel (FRA) in KZ2 and Davide Foré (ITA) in KZ2 Masters were leading the intermediate rankings ahead of Sunday morning's Super Heats.
The wide track at MotorLand Aragón provided plenty of overtaking opportunities for competitors in all three categories. The 21 Qualifying Heats were therefore highly entertaining, even when the skies darkened and the rain changed everything. The KZ2 Masters and KZ2 drivers were able to discover and appreciate the effectiveness of the CIK-FIA-approved Dunlop KT14 W15 tyres in very wet conditions during their closing heats.
KZ: Leuillet takes the lead
Poleman Viktor Gustafsson (SWE) initially won the first two heats before the rain made an appearance in the last heat, when the karts were equipped with slick tyres. The race had to be stopped on the seventh of the nine scheduled laps when Gustafsson was in eighth position. Tom Leuillet (FRA) climbed from fourth to first position thanks to his consistent second places in his three heats. Senna Van Walstijn (NLD) had been held up in the first heat, but regained his third position thanks to a fine victory to end the day. Danilo Albanese (ITA) finished level on points with Stan Pex (NLD), while Giuseppe Palomba (ITA) dropped back to sixth place ahead of David Trefilov (DEU), who moved up 12 places.
Top five in the KZ Qualifying Heats
1- Tom Leuillet FRA - (OTK/ Vortex / Dunlop) - 132 points
2- Viktor Gustafsson SWE - (CRG / TM Kart / Dunlop) - 130 points
3- Senna Van Walstijn NLD - (Sodi / TM Kart / Dunlop) - 121 points
4- Danilo Albanese ITA - (KR / IAME / Dunlop) - 115 points
5- Stan Pex NLD- (KR / IAME / Dunlop) - 115 points
KZ2: Spirgel leads despite the rain
Frenchman Matéo Spirgel got off to a faultless start with four consecutive wins in the dry. His third place on a wet track enabled him to stay in the lead of the category at the end of the Qualifying Heats. Two drivers were making up ground behind him, Artem Severiukhin and Daniel Vasile (ROU), while Timo Jüngling (GER) held on to fourth place ahead of the poleman Egor Nosov (CZE). Nacho Tuñon (ESP), who scored a fine victory in the rain, held on to sixth place ahead of Marek Skrivan (CZE) in seventh, Kasper Schormans (NLD) in eighth and Markus Kajak (EST) in ninth, all three of whom made significant progress. Maximilian Schleimer (DEU) rounded off the top 10 ahead of Iaroslav Shevyrtalov, who lacked experience in the start phases, but learned very quickly.
Top six in the KZ2 Qualifying Heats
1- Matteo Spirgel FRA - (Sodi / TM Kart / Dunlop) - 241 points
2- Artem Severiukhin - (Birel ART / TM Kart / Dunlop) - 226 points
3- Daniel Vasile ROU - (Birel ART / TM Kart / Dunlop) - 226 points
4- Timo Jüngling GER - (Sodi / TM Kart / Dunlop) - 221 points
5- Egor Nosov CZE - (IPK / TM Kart / Dunlop) - 210 points
6- Nacho Tuñon ESP - (KR / IAME / Dunlop) - 205 points
Fore leads after the KZ2 Masters Heats
Anthony Abbasse (FRA) had won the first two heats ahead of Davide Foré, but the rain in the last race dropped him back to sixth position. Fore was imperious on the wet track, taking victory and the lead over Abbasse. Kristijan Habulin (HRV) combined performance and consistency to hold on to third place ahead of Alessio La Martina (ITA), while Roberto Profico (ITA) moved up to fifth. Thomas Mich (FRA) maintained his sixth place ahead of Andre Nicastro (BRA), who moved up 10 places. Riccardo Nalon (ITA) didn't make it to the finish of the final heat and dropped to eighth in the intermediate classification ahead of Andrea Spagni (ITA) and Brice De Gaye (FRA).
Top five in the KZ2 Masters Qualifying Heats
1- Davide Fore ITA - (Birel ART / TM Kart / Dunlop) - 138 points
2- Anthony Abbasse FRA - (Sodi / TM Kart / Dunlop) - 134 points
3- Kristijan Habulin HRV - (TB Kart / TM Kart / Dunlop) - 123 points
4- Alessio La Martina ITA - (KR / IAME / Dunlop) - 108 points
5- Roberto Profico ITA - (OTK / Vortex / Dunlop) - 107 points
Provisional schedule for MotorLand Aragón
Sunday 7th July
08.30 - 09.51: Warm-up
10.10 - 11.45: Super Heats
13.35 - 16.00: Finals