The German Electric Kart Championship (DEKM) celebrated its racing premiere last weekend in Bavarian Ampfing. The first pure electric kart racing series in the world started on the Schweppermannring for the first time and experienced partly thrilling races. The victories went to the two title favorites Luka Wlömer and Jasin Ferati.
Things stay exciting in the DEKM. The participants from eight nations travelled to Bavaria for the fourth event of the year. The 1.063m long track in Ampfing was the location of the seventh and eighth races of the electric kart racing series. For the last time, the DEKM took place within the framework of the German Kart Championship. The big final is going to take place from October 22th – 26th with the Rotax MAX Challenge Grand Finals in Italian Sarno.
In Ampfing, the participants experienced some difficult conditions. Heavy rain made it hard to find the right setup and turned choosing the right tires into a lottery. In the end, the favorites were at the front of the field though.
Last-minute-victory for Luka Wlömer on Saturday
In the rainy qualifying on Saturday afternoon, there were several surprises. Guest driver Finn Gehrsitz achieved pole position at his second DEKM appearance. Australian Ryan Mills achieved third starting position at his guest-driver premiere. At the pre-final, the well-known drivers prevailed though. British Bradley Barrett won and thereby had pole position for the final.
During this, he led the race until right before the end. In the last two laps, pursuer Luka Wlömer turned up the heat though. From third place, the leading driver fought his way forward past his opponents and won in front of Jasin Ferati. The Swiss driver drove right next to Barrett during the last lap and was a spoiler length in the lead at the finish line. Winner Wlömer rejoiced about his success in his interview: “After having to kind of play poker during qualifying, the conditions were clear now. It was still a difficult race, starting from third position. I waited for the right moment and attacked. This victory is very important with regards to the fight for the title.”
Jasin Ferati wins the Sunday race with tire-poker
Just like on the day before, Finn Gehrsitz was the fastest driver of qualifying and confirmed his performance with a victory at the pre-final. Things got highly dramatic during the final race then. Shortly before the start of the race, heavy rain set in and made choosing the right tires a game of roulette. Some drivers chose slick tires, the others rain tires.
Saturday-winner Wlömer trusted in rain tires and took the lead right after the start. But during the course of the race, the track dried and the drivers with slick tires turned up the heat. In the end, the Berlin resident had to forfeit his top position without a fight. His strongest opponent in the championship, Jasin Ferati, won in front of Gehrsitz and Jort Coone. The Dutchman stood on the podium for the first time. In the winner’s interview, Ferati was happy about his success: “It was really exciting before the start. We chose slicks and thereby made the right decision. It was important to get through the first couple of laps unscathed. The fight for the title is still open but it is going to be difficult to stop Luka.” Currently, Luka Wlömer is leading the championship with 245 points in front of Jasin Ferati (217 points) and Joel Sturm (175 points).
