The KR-IAME teams continue their winning run in the Champions of the Future Euro Series with a third victory in three races in OK and a return to the lead in OK-Junior. By finishing 3rd behind Noah Baglin after some incredible comebacks, Niklas Schaufler regained the overall lead in the Juniors. In OK, KR chassis made it a hat-trick with Joe Turney, Thibaut Ramaekers, the new series leader, and David Cosma Cristofor. On the difficult Slovakia Ring, the Italian brand has certainly found the right way to optimise performance, from free practice to the finals.
A triumph in OK bodes well for the European Championship
With nine KR chassis in the top 12 and the entire podium, the KR-IAME packages didn't just make up the numbers in Slovakia. The build-up has been slow but steady, with a particularly prolific Sunday in terms of results. In the first Super Heat, Thibaut Ramaekers (VDK Racing) won ahead of his team-mate Fionn McLaughlin and Scott Kin Lindblom (Fusion Motorsport). In the second, Noah Monteiro (KR Motorsport) won ahead of Joe Turney (KR Motorsport) and Jimmy Helias (Victory Lane).
This clear competitive edge was not to be denied in the Final with the new Maxxis tyres. Turney took the lead before the halfway mark, followed in succession by McLaughlin, Ramaekers and then Helias. Very fast, the Frenchman managed to cross the finish line as winner, before falling back to 5th place due to a penalty (incorrect fairing position), leaving the honours to Turney. Ramaekers, who won at Val d'Argenton, did very well in the overall standings, finishing 2nd ahead of another Cetilar Racing driver, David Cosma Cristofor, who came back brilliantly from 14th position.
Noah Monteiro could also have finished on the podium had it not been for a penalty. Congratulations to Lindblom, Andrea Dupe (Prema Racing), back after several months out of action following knee surgery, and Dmitry Matveev for their top 10 finishes. Leo Nilsson came up short after a great Super Heat, Salim Hanna (Prema Racing) set the fastest time in the race, Luna Fluxa Cross was also very fast, as were Oleksandr Bondarev and Murilo Da Rocha (DPK Racing).
A double podium in OK-Junior with Baglin and Schaufler
The changeable weather conditions during Qualifying did not make the task of the young drivers on the Slovakia Ring any easier and some drivers quickly lost their chances of a good result. At the end of the Qualifying Heats, the best place of the KR-IAME packages was held by Harrison Mackie (Fusion Motorsport), who brilliantly finished 2nd, while Niklas Schaufler (DPK Racing) pulled off quite a feat by climbing from 41st to 5th place ahead of Arjen Kraeling (KR Motorsport). The Super Heats confirmed the speed of these three drivers, as did that of Noah Baglin (Prema Racing), Daniel Kelleher (KR Motorsport), Kenzo Craigie (Prema Racing) and Iacopo Martinese (KR Motorsport).
In the Final, an incredible battle for 2nd place began between several drivers, while the leader escaped. Shortly after the halfway point, Baglin's efforts were rewarded as the Briton took 2nd place. Schaufler finally won his place on the third step of the podium, while taking the lead of the Champions of the Future Euro Series. Kraeling finished 5th. Starting 11th, Rocco Coronel (Victory Lane) climbed back up to 7th ahead of Mackie. Kelleher returned to the top 10, Juste Mulder (Victory Lane) gained 14 places, Bosco Arias (DPK Racing) was among the fastest and Martinese set the fastest lap of the race.
A comment from Dino Chiesa, Head of KR Global Motorsport Company
"With 14 corners on a track measuring just 1,172 metres, a counter-clockwise direction and rather low lap averages, the Slovakia Ring required a great deal of development work. I think that we were able to find the right solutions to be very competitive, by exploiting the versatility of the Maxxis tyres, whether in OK-Junior with the 'option' version or with the 'prime' OK tyres. This is obviously positive in view of the FIA Karting European Championship, although I imagine that our competitors will take advantage of the days leading up to this event to raise their level. There's bound to be more adrenaline in the next event and I hope that there won't be too many collisions on this twisty, narrow track. Finally, I'd like to give a nod to Baglin and Monteiro, our two drivers named Noah, who were both excellent in Slovakia."