Round up and Preview for the Grand Final
30.11.2007
There's just something about a racetrack in the morning.
It's calm, relatively quiet. People are milling about,
talking with friends, making plans for the day. Here and
there the clinking of wrenches is heard as well as the
occasional short burst of exhaust as an engine is fired
up. This relative calm is not as it would seem, however.
It's more like water at 99 degrees, just about to boil.
For under the surface, there's an excitement running through
the pits. An anticipation for an event many have been
waiting and preparing for a full year. But this is not
just any event; this is the ROTAX MAX Grand Finals, an
invitation-only event that brings together over 200 of
the top kart racers from around the world.
To get invited to the Grand Finals, a driver must be
a top-finisher in his or her’s national championship
or qualify through a series like the ROTAX MAX Euro Challenge.
As such, the level of competition is extremely high and
it is not unusual to see some very talented drivers not
make it through to the finals. This year is no exception
and at the end of the Second Chance races on Thursday
there were a lot of dejected faces throughout the paddock
as crews were tearing down their karts so they could be
returned to the Intrepid and CRG tents.
At the other end of the emotion spectrum were the drivers
who had safely made it to the finals through their performances
in the heat races. Sitting atop their respective classes
were Takamoto Katsuta from Japan (Junior MAX), Mike Simpson
from the UK (MAX) and Pier-Luc Ouellette of Canada (DD2).
By many accounts, Pier-Luc’s performance this year
has been astonishing. Not only was he the fastest qualifier
in DD2, he has won all three of his heats by a big margin
against a field that includes former ROTAX MAX Grand Finals
Champions Ben George (DD2 2006) and Kenneth Hildebrand
(Junior MAX 2005). Sharing the front row with Ouellette
in the pre-final will be South Africa’s Kyle Lawrence.
Kyle has also looked very impressive this week and is
looking to put South Africa back atop the winner’s
rostrum.
Leading the charge in turn one in the MAX pre-final is
Michael Simpson from the UK. To his right will be fellow
countryman Ben Cooper. Could this be the year that Great
Britain wins their first Grand Final championship? Or
will the defending champion, Ricardo Romkema of Holland,
repeat his success from Portugal?
Junior MAX sees Takamoto Katsuta from Japan on pole for
the pre-final. Takamoto has been looking strong all week
as well and has impressed many with his fluid driving
style. Sharing the front row with Katsuta is another talented
driver from the Netherlands, Mats Van Den Brand. Starting
seventeenth in Junior MAX is Austria’s Daniel Schellnegger.
Daniel has been on the podium the last two years in the
Junior category. If he is to make it back “on the
box” this year, he will certainly have to work for
it in this tight field.
As Friday comes to a close, there’s no way we can
be sure what the final results will be come Saturday evening.
The only thing that is for sure is that the racing will
be extremely close and very fun to watch.
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