It was time to go racing at the Circuito Internazionale di Napoli in Sarno, Italy, as the 2024 RMC Grand Final heat races began today. After some rain on Tuesday, Micro MAX, Mini MAX, and MAX DD2 Masters qualified in wet conditions, but the remainder of the classes qualified today under sunny and clear skies.
Following qualifying in the morning, the first heat races of the week-long event were underway this afternoon, providing a precursor for what is to come when we get to the finals on Saturday.
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E20 Senior Qualifying Practice
The six-minute qualifying session opened as the E20 Senior drivers hit the track in their hunt for pole position. Team Sweden’s Junior Jonsson (#601) topped the charts early on, followed by the #617 of Uruguayan Maximo Castro, who topped the charts in a few Non-Qualifying Practice sessions. Jonsson’s rear bumper was loose but still intact as the session continued. Thailand’s Siri Kongsiri (#606) took the top spot with one minute remaining but was disposed of by Team Hungary’s Armand Hamilton (#607) in the final minute.
When the checkered flag flew, it was Hamilton with a 1:01.084 ahead of Kongsiri and Castro. Junior Jonsson slotted into the fourth position despite the loose rear bumper, just ahead of Team Portugal’s Leandre Carvalho (#614), as the top five were separated by .272. Following the session, Jonsson was disqualified for his bumper not having the required hardware per the regulations.
Also, Maximo Castro and Leandre Carvalho, along with several others, were removed from the results regarding Article 2.2.8 - lead must be bolted to the seat. The top five were reshuffled to see Hamilton claim the pole position ahead of Kongsiri, with Team Spain’s Raul Vargas (#602) elevated to third, followed by Swiss driver Phillip Loacker (#611) and #609 Robert Schopian from Germany.
E20 Master Qualifying Practice
The E20 Master class was led early by Maurits Knopjes (#703) from the Netherlands, who returned to the RMC Grand Finals after ten years. Racing in the same event as his son, who was battling in the DD2 ranks, Knopjes claimed the E20 Master pole position with a 1:02.071, as Team Argentina’s Emiliano Parisi (#705) will join him on the front row. Row two will be occupied by Team Brazil’s Gabriel Rosa (#704) and Team Sweden’s Jonatan Morin (#702). The top five was completed by the #714 Peter Gyutai from Hungary.
E20 Senior and E20 Master Qualifying Heat #1
After heat one was interrupted due to a red flag, series officials decided to move the heat to tomorrow and complete the total nine-lap race distance.
Micro MAX Qualifying Heat #1
Leading the field to the green flag, Team Brazil’s Pedro Campos (#31) jumped to the lead early but Thailand’s Chinnaphat Vejabhuti (#16) from second fell to P16 after the opening lap. Contact on lap two between drivers in the top five, including Team New Zealand’s Nixon Crips (#5), pushed a few drivers down the running order. A short six-lap race that included a full course caution and slow lap brought the field back together before the green flag flew again. Campos led until the start of the final lap until the British duo of Luke Milward (#23) and Joshua Cook (#2) moved to first and second. The top two drivers would remain the same when the checkered flag flew with Campos in third, Portugal’s Vincente Capela (#36) fourth, and Chinese Taipie’s Shuo-Ting Chang (#33) in fifth. A host of penalties came post-race, but Milwood kept the victory; however, behind him, Campos was awarded second ahead of Shuo-Ting Chang, Matthew Shuttleworth of South Africa, and Ilia Mazof of Kyrgyzstan rounded out the top five.
Mini MAX Qualifying Heat #1 – A + B
It was a seven-lap heat for the Mini Max competitors as Team Great Britain’s Oliver Spencer (#109) led the field to the green flag as the first time was an aborted start. Second time was a charm, and Spencer led down to turn two. Later in the lap, Spencer was disposed of by his countrymen Albert Friend (#110), Finlay Lines (#156), and Harry Taylor (#122) as the Brits held the top four positions at the end of lap one. With passes happening throughout the field, Friend continued to lead at the mid-race distance as Spencer fell back to sixth. Finlay Lines tried to defend on lap six but was hung out to dry, dropping to third behind Friend and Ben Mccloughry (#130) from Ireland. Friend went on to take the heat one win ahead of Mccloughry as Spencer rebounded to finish third ahead of Lithuania’s Majus Mazinas (#151) and Team Croatia’s Vito Coza (#121), who gained twenty-three positions, to finish fifth.
Mini MAX Qualifying Heat #1 – C + D
It was #163 of Zdenek Babicek from Czechia and #138 of Patrikas Jocius and Team Lithuania that led the field to turn one for the Mini MAX heat C and D as Team Canada’s Alexis Baillargeon was backward from his P6 starting spot and into the barriers in turn one. Estonia’s Nikita Ljubimov (#133) moved forward five positions over the first five laps to move into second as he and the leader Babicek had opened a half-second gap on the rest of the field. Ljubimov went to the lead at the start of the final lap, but the third-place runner of Hong Kong’s Han John was down the inside of both into turn two to take the lead. John scored the win ahead of Jocius, and Babicek. Ljubimov crossed the finish line in the fourth position ahead of Great Britain’s Jenson Chalk.
Junior MAX Qualifying Practice
The first group of Junior MAX drivers to hit the track were the Odd-numbered Junior competitors for their short six-minute qualifying session, and a few drivers had trouble entering the track due to new Mojo tires and some damp spots. Several drivers chose to run slow laps, looking for space, hindering a few others who were on flying laps. When all was settled, it was Alois Girardet (#245) and Team France at 1:02.191, who was the fastest driver in that group ahead of #231 Noah Janssen from Germany and Team USA’s Davin Roberts. Austria’s Ivonn Simeonova (#267) slotted into P4, with Team Australia’s Hamish Campbell (#251) in fifth. Following the session, Janssen earned himself a penalty that dropped him down the running order, elevating Roberts to second, Simeonova to third, Campbell to fourth, and Marco Manson (#207) to fifth.
The Even-numbered competitors were next, and it was a disaster for a few as they left the pit lane to enter the track. A few drivers came together, one of which qualifying session was over before it began. They behaved better regarding track position than the odd-numbered group, resulting in a quicker lap time and ultimate pole position. Cameron Nelson (#204) from the United Kingdom was on top with a 1:01.861 to lead a Team Great Britain one-two finish and secure the Junior MAX pole position. Jacob Ashcroft (#246) moved to the second position on the final lap, just ahead of Team Netherlands driver Boaz Maximov (#214), Chinese Taipei’s Eason Tseng (#268) and Team USA’s Gage Korn.
Junior MAX Qualifying Heat #1 – A + B
Cameron Nelson (#204) from Great Britain and Alois Girardet from France occupied the front row of Junior MAX heat A and B. Girardet fell to sixth at the end of lap one as the #214 of Boaz Maximov took the lead. Ivonn Simenova slotted himself into the third position, with Team USA’s Gage Korn in fourth and Team France’s Jules Avril in the fifth position. Nelson moved back to the point on lap three as he wanted to try and run away to the win and managed to open a small gap of just over two-tenths of a second. Contact on the penultimate lap took a few drivers out of contention as Nelson scored the win ahead of Scott Marsh (#227) in a British one-two. Maximov held on to P3 when the checkered flag flew with Korn in fourth and Max Sadurski (#264) from the Netherlands rounding out the top five. Following the heat, Maximov was dropped to eighth with a penalty and Korn was disqualified moving Sadurski to third, Simenova to fourth, and Japanese driver Shun Sekiuchi to fifth.
Junior MAX Qualifying Heat #1 – C + D
A British and an American were on the front row of Junior MAX heat C and D, with Jacob Ashcroft and Davin Roberts occupying that space. It was an aborted start on the first attempt, but on the second try, we were green with Ashcroft taking the point. Jeremy Reuvers (#266) gained five positions on the opening lap to move into the second position ahead of Ties Van Wijk (#202), Eason Tseng (#268), and Roberts. The racing at the front of the Junior MAX grid was aggressive as Van Wijk took the lead ahead of Reuvers, and Roberts. Ashcroft had fallen to ninth, but, a lap later was up into the seventh position. Van Wijk led with two laps to go, and Roberts, although had dropped to fifth, found his way back in second. Lewis Goff (#237) from Great Britain was up eleven positions to third. Van Wijk went on to take the win with Goff crossing the line second. Team Estonia’s Fernando Paimre (#272) gained more positions on the final lap to finish third, with Ashcroft and Roberts rounding out the top five. Following the race, Goff was relegated to 12th after a penalty moving Denmark’s Noah Janssen into the top five in fifth.
Senior MAX Qualifying Practice
The Senior MAX Odd-numbered drivers were next on track for qualifying, but halfway through the session, only one of the thirty-six drivers had entered the circuit. With two minutes remaining, the rest of the field entered the track, and one of the last drivers was the #317 Macauley Bishop from the United Kingdom who stole the pole position at a 1:00.842 on his only flying lap. In an all-British top three, Matthew Higgins (#341) was second quick, just ahead of Kai Hunter (#347) in third. Team Italy’s Elia Pappacena was fourth quick, with another British driver in fifth in the #357 of Sean Butcher.
Even-numbered drivers hit the track, and more competitors were turning laps before the midway point. Big name drivers continued to wait in the pit lane and entered the track with less than two minutes remaining. British drivers found their way to the top of the charts again, with Lewis Gilbert (#302) turning a lap of 1:00.540 to be the fastest of the group and overall, fastest in Senior MAX. Fellow Brit Callum Bradshaw (#336) slotted into the second position ahead of the #366 entry of Mika Van De Pavert from the Netherlands. Great Britain put three drivers in the top four, Harry Bartle (#330) was fourth, and Estonia’s Paul Kristian Hamburg (#338) rounded out the top five.
Senior MAX Qualifying Heat #1 – A + B
Great Britain occupied the front row of Senior MAX heat A and B as Lewis Gilbert and Macauley Bishop took the green from the front row and remained up at the front to close lap one. Kai Hunter moved to third to make it a British 1 – 2 – 3 on lap two before Bishop went through the grass in an attempted pass but lost momentum and fell to fourth at the expense of Hunter and Mika Van De Pavert (#366). Bishop was back by Van De Pavert on lap three. Vic Stevens (#358) moved from fifth to second on lap four and to the lead on lap five, pushing Gilbert to second. In the nine-lap heat, Stevens and Gilbert had opened a gap of nearly one second, but it was closed a lap later. After nine hard-fought laps, Stevens took the win ahead of Bishop, who recovered after falling outside the top five. Hunter, Gilbert, and Sean Butcher rounded out the top five, putting four British drivers in the top five behind the race-winning Belgium. Following on-track penalties being assessed, results were adjusted with Stevens ahead of Hunter, Gilbert, Butcher, and Pietro Valdo Pons after Bishop was given a five-second time penalty.
Senior MAX Qualifying Heat #1 – C + D
Callum Bradshaw, the 2022 RMC Grand Finals winner in 2022, led the Senior MAX C and D heat into turn one with a pair of British drivers in tow, Matt Higgins and Harry Bartle. Tino Sidler (#340) from Switzerland mounted his attack early and moved to third at the end of lap one at the expense of Higgens and, by the end of lap two, had taken the lead. While Sidler had led, the British drivers sitting second through fourth were organizing themselves for an attack, with Higgins regaining the point on lap three. Thailand’s Brett King Espinosa (#363) was up to fifth and then fourth by the conclusion of lap four. With Higgins and Sidler working together, they began to open a gap on Bartle in third who was defending hard. While running in the top five, contact between Espinosa and Bradshaw sent Bradshaw spinning through the grass and Espinosa down to 24th. With a two-second gap and a two-driver race upfront, Higgins and Sidler pulled away to fight for the win on their own. Higgins scored the win ahead of Sidler and Bartle. Tommy Van Der Struijs (#319) from the Netherlands and Thailand’s Austin Gale (#331) finished fourth and fifth, respectively. Higgins and Sidler kept their positions after penalties were handed out, but Australia’s Max Walton was promoted to third, Team USA’s Oliver Hodgson to fourth, and Team Italy’s Elia Pappacena to fifth at the expense of Bartle, Van Der Struijs, and Gale.
MAX DD2 Qualifying Practice
All Even-numbered MAX DD2 drivers were on the track early in their quest for pole position as they searched for track position for their qualifying attempt. As the fastest karts on track this week, lap times dipped below the sixty-second barrier and were led by the #463 competitor of Enzo Bol from the Netherlands at a 59.776. Team France’s Antoine Barbaroux (#447) was just .011 behind the quick time but second fastest in his group ahead of Team Poland’s Dawid Maslakiewicz (#455). Team Latvia’s Emils Akmens (#439) was fourth quick in the Even-numbered session ahead of Team Brazil’s Leonardo Reis (#435), as the top fifteen in the group were separated by .323.
With a sub-sixty-second lap set in the Even-numbered group, the mark was set for the Odd-numbered drivers. Slovenia’s Xen De Ruwe (#414) topped the charts to close qualifying with a time of 59.849, slightly slower than that of Enzo Bol, who would take the overall pole position. Behind De Ruwe, Sem Knopjes (#420) from the Netherlands was second quickest, .026 behind and just ahead of Team Finland’s Axel Saarniala (#468), who was only .081 from the quickest session time. The #412 entry of Kyrgyzstan’s Konstantin Krapin was fourth quick ahead of Team Denmark’s Rasmus Vendelbo (#466)
MAX DD2 Qualifying Heat #1 – A + B
In the premiere Rotax MAX division, MAX DD2 entered the track for their first heat race as thirty-six drivers battled in Heat A and B. The outright pole position winner in qualifying Enzo Bol led the field to green alongside Xen De Ruwe with Dawid Maslakiewicz and Axel Saarniala in row two. At mid-race distance, Bol and De Ruwe settled into the top two spots, but behind them, Leonard Reis from Brazil had moved to third ahead of Daniel Giliberti from Italy and Latvian Patriks Noels Locmelis. Maslakiewicz had fallen to sixth but worked his way back into the top five on lap six. At the beginning of the penultimate lap, De Ruwe took the lead, pushing Bol to second and holding him at bay to take the win. Reis followed Bol across the line in third ahead of Giliberti and Maslakiewicz.
MAX DD2 Qualifying Heat #1 – C + D
Watching the A and B heat race from the grid, Antoine Barbaroux and Sem Knopjes led the field out of the grid and onto the track for the day’s second and final MAX DD2 heat race of the day. The top two held their positions for the opening lap and a half before things started to get dicey. Knopjes took the lead, pushing Barbaroux to second place as Great Britain’s Will Elswood moved to third. Nikita Gense (#407) was fourth with Team France driver Paul Fourquemin in P5. Barbaroux took the lead from Knopjes on lap five as the top seven ran nose to tail. Konstantin Krapin moved his way to fifth after falling back early on as he aimed to move back toward the front. Barbaroux took the win as he and Knopjes went wheel-to-wheel to the finish line, with Barbaroux scoring the victory by .003 over Knopjes. Krapin fought his way forward to finish third, while Gense and Elswood were fourth and fifth. However, team France driver Paul Fourquemin was moved to the fifth position at the expense of Elswood, who was a victim of a post-race penalty.
MAX DD2 Masters Qualifying Heat #1
With dry track conditions, Team France and Nicolas Picot (#513) moved to the point of the MAX DD2 Masters class as he was one of the quickest drivers in all of practice. Opening a lead of over 1.5 seconds by midrace distance, it was Picot’s heat race to lose. Behind him, Team Brazil’s Jaoa Cunha (#535) was holding a hard-charging Matthew Hamilton (#507) from New Zealand. Pole position winner and Team Australia’s Scott Howard (#522) settled into the fourth position, with Team USA’s John Bonanno (#503) in fifth. From there, the top five remained static as Picot took the win by 1.241 over Cunha.
On To Tomorrow
With qualifying and the first heat race for all classes now in the books, the focus shifts to tomorrow and heats two and three. Strong results in the heat races will provide a better starting position in the prefinal as drivers look to be consistent in their quest to fight for the title of RMC Grand Finals Champion on Saturday.
