The newly formed Stargate Dubai sponsored Karting Team, managed by XSPORT Motorsports, had a successful performance at the ROK World Championship, held in Lonato, Italy over the weekend.

Twenty two countries qualified to participate this year, where each country sends pre-qualified drivers to compete amongst the very best drivers in the world, all competitors race with the same make of Vortex ROK engines and are allowed to use their own choice of professional racing chassis.

Fabienne Lanz, the Stargate Dubaismost successful karting star, impressed spectators and fellow competitors alike as she lit up the track on the damp Friday practice sessions, topping the time sheets with a fastest lap time amongst 60 fellow competitors in the Super ROK 125cc category.

During Friday and Saturday, more practice and qualifying heats allowed Fabienne to fine tune her kart placing her consistently in the top three places. An unfortunate engine failure on the second qualifying heat, two laps from the end, knocked Fabienne back in the overall average rankings that dictate the final race start positions and she had to settle for starting in a disappointing twentieth place out of thirty four on the grid.

On race day all the hard work and preparation throughout the week seamed to be in vain as Fabienne would now have a mountainous task to pick her way through the rest of the grid to gain as many places as possible in the 20 lap race. My main aim was to keep clear of any incidents to have the best chance of overtaking the slower drivers, commented a frustrated Fabienne. Finally after an exhausting race, Fabienne managed to steer clear of incidents and picked her way through the grid to claim 14th place with a fastest time of 44:28 seconds, which was 4th fastest lap time overall. Fabienne was still placed ahead of all other fellow South African nationals from her country. I’m satisfied that I managed to show the full speed in the kart although I could never prepare for such an engine failure, I am disappointed but that’s racing as they say – I’m happy that I had a safe race and I’m looking forward to next year, continued Fabienne.

We are extremely happy that Fabienne once again proved her skill and determination by topping the timesheets against all her rivals. We are looking forward to welcoming her to Dubai where we will start a programme to coach future young karting stars at Stargate Dubai, where UAE will soon to have its own UAE ROK Championship, placing us firmly on the motorsports map in karting, commented Lex Akehurst, Managing Director, XSPORT Motorsports.

By EyeOfDubai

It would never work in England. A horse race in the centre of town. Admittedly, Liverpool comes close, with Aintree racecourse looking like it sits slap-bang in a Scouse housing estate - but you couldn’t imagine running a bunch of thoroughbreds round Trafalgar Square.

And yet every year Siena stages its ancient, bi-annual palio – a bareback horse race that dates back to the Middle Ages. The city’s seventeen districts - or contrade - are represented in the race by the horses and compete for nothing more than honour and a silk palio.

It is fitting that the historic Tuscan city has been chosen to host this year’s Easykart World Finals. The pageantry will be of a decidedly 21st Century nature, and the contrade will give way to fifteen nations, but this weekend’s event at the Circuito di Siena will surely produce passion and emotions equal to the palio’s ancient rivalries.

By virtue of being the fastest-growing Easykart franchise in the World, the UK has been granted the opportunity to field its largest squad yet. Twenty drivers, five from each category (Cadet, Junior, Light and Heavy), will make the trip to the technical and demanding track at Castelnuovo Berardenga.

For the past two years, British drivers have performed well in the annual highlight of the Easykart calendar. In 2007, Barnaby Pittingale won the Heavy crown and was a trophy winner at last year’s race. Fellow seniors Terry Langley (Light) and Will Smith (Heavy) also returned home with cups, as did Jack Sales who returns to Italy this year as a senior.

Looking forward to the action Easykart UK promoter John Vigor said “This year we’re stronger, particularly in the senior classes. Barnaby knows how to win a World Final and several of the boys who competed last year will know what to expect and be even better prepared as a consequence.”

He added, “The Juniors will also be stronger after two seasons. (2009 champion) Patrick Lay has a very good chance, as has (runner-up) Brad Fairhurst. Both will be more experienced, confident and hungry to perform well at the highest level”.

Vigor sounded a note of caution over the Cadets’ chances, as this will be the inaugural year that British drivers in this class have taken part in the World Finals. He said “It’ll be really tough for them. It’s extremely competitive and is a very big grid. James DeHavillande and Will Stowell (first and second in this year’s UK championship) will have a great time and give a good account of themselves, as will all of our guys but I do think the Cadets face the steepest learning curve.”

Easykart UK’s runners and riders are:

Cadet
James DeHavillande
William Stowell
Ronan McKenzie
Jordan Sanders
Josh Grimston

Junior
Patrick Lay
Brad Fairhurst
Christopher Waldock
Thomas Grainger
Tiernay Oliver

Light
Terry Langley
Owen Jenman
Ben King
Adrian Crockett
Jack Sales

Heavy
Kieran McCullough
Barnaby Pittingale
William Smith
Tim Hill
Mark Lawrence

Determining who will be the finalists of World Cups KZ1 (gearbox karts) and KF3 (Juniors from 13 – 15 years old), the qualifying races which began this Saturday in Sarno have already taught us some interesting lessons. In KZ1, Jérémy Iglésias confirmed his good form whereas Jonathan Thonon, Bas Lammers, Davide Fore and Andreas Fasberg have all been unlucky. In KF3 Nyck De Vries once again created a strong impression in showing himself clearly a class above the rest!

These major karting competitions contested over just one solitary event inevitably create a mounting pressure as the Final gets ever closer. After qualifying practice on Friday, the competitors (68 in KZ1, 75 in KF3) have in fact been split into 5 groups. Each group then races against all the other groups during the qualifying heats (thereby necessitating 4 races per driver) during which the most important thing is to consistently finish in good enough positions to qualify amongst the 34 finalists, and then also to ensure the best place on the starting grid for the pre-final, which itself then determines the starting grid for the final. It is undoubtedly the time of greatest pressure of the whole weekend since it is only the result of the Final that will determine who is the World Cup winner in KZ1 and KF3.

This Saturday, the competitors accordingly began the numerous qualifying races (10 in each class) which will also continue into Sunday. Since all drivers have not yet competed in the same number of races, it is not yet possible to establish a provisional classification. However some lessons can already be learned…

So, in KZ1 (the principal category of gearbox karting), Jérémy Iglésias (Intrepid-TM) confirmed that his best time in qualifying practice owed nothing to luck. Winner of the 3 qualifying races in which he competed, the Frenchman showed himself at the same time both confident and yet not over-confident. "I am not sure that I will sleep well", explained the European Vice-Champion. "Everything has gone marvellously well and to win this World Cup seems increasingly possible. But there is still a long way to go and still cause for anxiety because I know that the smallest slip up or the smallest error can undo all the good work and result in enormous disappointment. But so far so good, I am crossing my fingers for more of the same tomorrow".

If the French knew how to run a faultless race, like his team-member Salvatore Gatto (Intrepid-TM), you could not say the same of his main challengers. Second fastest in qualifying practice Jonathan Thonon (CRG-Maxter) had engine failure and whilst European Champion Bas Lammers (Intrepid-TM) was the winner of 2 of his races, he also experienced a motor failure at the start of another. An excellent 3rd quickest in qualifying, Andreas Fasberg (AM-Maxter) experienced a non-finish and Davide Fore (CRG-Maxter) had also failed to finish a race following a collision. Consequently several drivers will have to try to make up for today’s lost ground with a better showing on Sunday to retrieve any chance of further progress. As for Jaime Alguersuari (Intrepid-TM), the Toro Rosso Formula 1 driver, he twice secured a finish in the top ten in his 2 qualifying races. "All has gone well" explained the Spaniard. "I made progress each time I got in the kart and I am getting near my best. I hope to continue this improvement all the way to the Final!"

Amongst the Juniors of KF3 (13-15 years), the Dutchman Nyck De Vries (Zanardi-Parilla) confirmed his domination. Fastest in qualifying and winner of his first 3 races, the European Champion now dreams more than ever of a World Cup victory. Amongst the other race winners Italian Giuliano Maria Niceta (Tony Kart-Vortex) caught the eye, as did the Russian Serguei Sirotkin (Tony Kart-Vortex) and the Spaniard Gerald Barrabeig (Intrepid-TM), although both having misfortune in one of their races. For them the weekend could have started better… But there is still a long way to go before the Final and, as always in karting, there are still no doubt plenty of twists and turns to come before the final podium is determined.

By PT

The increasingly popular Rotax Euro Challenge had attracted over 130 entries for the second round of the series, held for the first time on the Kart Planet track at Busca in Piedmont, northern Italy (29-31 May).

And once again, Strawberry’s drivers were in the thick of the action - and on the podium. In the Senior class, Joseph Reilly was able to make up for his disappointment in the opening round (at Campillos, Spain, 28 - 29 March) and used the “the right strategy” at Busca to take a well-deserved victory. Team-mate Luke Varley returned to the podium (after winning the opening event), taking a finely judged third place and extending his championship lead.

Special mention should be made for Strawberry’s third Senior and series leader going into the weekend, James Greenway. Warwick explains, “James wasn’t in the best of health after getting a blood infection. He battled on but was in no fit state to be able to challenge at the front.”

Joseph’s win has boosted him to fourth in the title chase, whilst James remains in touch from fifth overall. Speaking in the press conference afterwards, Joseph said, “We made the best decision this weekend, to have the right tyres, tyre pressures and ideal set-up to win. The result is good for the championship points and I’m feeling quite confident now going into the third round. I want to thank Warwick, David and Strawberry Racing for all their hard work, and my team mates for being there and ‘having my back!’ Also thanks to my sponsors back home in London and my parents for all their support.”

Representing the team in the Junior category, round one hero Josh Webster figured well in the eliminatory heats, taking a first place and two fourths to earn himself a front-row start in the pre-final.

Having opted to run his new tyres in the pre-final, Josh used their superior performance to grab a breathtaking win on the last lap.

He made a perfect start in the main final, but suffered from now having worn rubber on his Tony Kart Racer EVR chassis and was soon under pressure. A monumental scrap developed and Josh found himself shuffled down the pack to sixth. Surviving some desperate manoeuvres, he held onto his place and the Championship lead - which he later admitted was his main priority in Italy.

The team returns to domestic racing duties this weekend, in the third round of the British Super 1 Championship at Buckmore Park in Kent. The action kicks off this Saturday (12 June) with timed qualifying from 12:30, followed by the first heat at 3:10pm. The racing will continue on Sunday (13 June) and features the all-important points-scoring finals.