The 2nd Round of the FIA Karting European Championship - OK & Junior which took place in France on the Val D'Argenton track also saw the CRG Racing Team among the main protagonists of the event. The OK top-class drivers took part and played a leading role, once again led by Gabriel Gomez. The Brazilian was constantly among the fastest on the track and after the qualifying phases, he obtained P5 on the starting grid for the Final. Louis Iglesias also confirmed himself to be very competitive, conquering P12 on the grid for the Final, just as Mark Dubnitski, Tom Dussol, Davide Bottaro and Markas Silkunas entered the top 36, confirming the competitiveness of the CRG Factory Team. Jindrich Pesl from the Serafini team also joined the 6 CRG finalists.
The strength of the CRG drivers was also confirmed in the Final with Gabriel Gomez who did a solid race and ended in P3 on the podium under the chequered flag, but a controversial penalty for a debated overtaking with the yellow flag relegated the Brazilian driver in P4. Thinking about the Championship, the biggest regret concerns the points lost, but looking at the positive aspects of the weekend, there was yet another confirmation of the versatility of the CRG chassis, competitive on all types of tracks and conditions. Once again Louis Iglesias confirmed himself among the best drivers in the top class, finishing in P8 in a solid race always together with the race leaders. Mark Dubnitski and Tom Dussol also confirmed their performances, finishing in P12 and P14 respectively, both in the points. Davide Bottaro was unluckier, forced to retire after a few laps due to a contact, as well as Markas Silkunas who, after losing some positions in the early stages of the race, finished in P22. However, Pesl's race was positive, finishing in P11 under the chequered flag.
In the OK Junior category, after the first Qualifying Heat, François Kerdal was forced to retire due to injury, while Oliver Rasmussen, Asher Ochtestin and Mats Van Rooijen qualified for the Final by running excellent Heats. Unfortunately, however, none of the three of them scored points in the Final, due to some contacts during the race.
At the end of the 2nd round of the Championship, which we remember is made up of 4 events, Gabriel Gomez is in P2 in the general classification, 18 points behind the leader, while Louis Iglesias is in P5. The next meeting will take place in Slovakia on a new track for everyone and which the drivers will discover with the Champions of the Future preparation race scheduled for June 2nd
CRG drivers’ post-race reactions:
Gabriel Gomez (OK): “Obviously I'm very disappointed about the penalty because it costs us important points in a Championship that will be hotly contested until the last race. But at the same time, we are all satisfied with our weekend, once again faced as protagonists and with excellent speed in all the track conditions. We have a chassis that has proven to be very versatile and the team has always worked very well in every phase of the weekend. I always have to say a special thanks to our engineer Nicola Boscaini, who manages our Iame engines on the track, because he always guarantees us exceptional support".
Oliver Rasmussen (OKJ): “Our weekend started very well with a P19 out of 86 drivers in the general classification of Qualifying Practice. After the Heat I was in P17 and also in the Super Heat we were very fast, finishing in P5. Unfortunately, in the Final I was involved in two collisions and lost many positions, finishing the race outside the points. I'm a little disappointed with the final result but at the same time satisfied with our performance. It wasn't an easy weekend, due to the weather changing many times and we certainly got less than we deserved. In any case, I leave France with many positive aspects that I will take with me to the next race”.