Intrepid Force Rotax Senior Max driver Josh Hart got off to a flyer on the weekend at round 3 of the Rotax Euro Challenge in the Czech Republic, when the New Zealander claimed his second pole position for the series in official timed practice Friday. Hart had taken pole and finished 2nd at the previous round in Italy. The 1075m ‘Global Assistance Racing Arena Autodrom Ceská Lípa’ did however prove not to be the easiest to master for some of the Austrian team’s younger drivers, although there were some highlights come Sunday.

Continuing his good form, Hart won two of the qualifying heats and had one 3rd place in the wet, which gave him pole position for the pre-final Sunday. The 22-year old also set the fastest lap of the six Senior Max heats contested. He was leading the first final until lap 7, when round 2 winner Joseph Reilly made a desperate move up the inside of the IFR driver into the first chicane, which resulted in contact that dropped Hart to 6th, but he managed to take 5th by the end. Still confident that he could win the final, Hart saw the chance on turn 1 to take a shot at the race lead, but was spun around when it didn’t come off and rejoined the field from the back. Once again setting the best lap of the race overall, Hart recovered well to come through to finish 10th. He now sits in 3rd place in the championship going into the last round at Salbris, France mid-September.

Returning to the Euro Challenge, but as a senior for this one round, vice Austrian champ Niki Laa was looking forward to the experience of mixing it with some of the World’s best Max drivers at the event. He did well to rank 12th in the 67-kart field in qualifying and apart from one unlucky heat, had two top 10 results to be on row 13 for the pre-final. Laa was unable to advance on his start position amidst the tough competition back down the order, but made up for it in the final that afternoon. Clocking the 3rd best time behind his team-mate Josh Hart and the series leader Jason Varley (GB), the 16-year old drove a great race to take 11th across the line. It was an excellent result and ideal preparation for the upcoming Austrian Championship this month.

In the absence of IFR’s Rotax DD2 European vice champion Dominik Kraihamer, Maxi Fleischmann returned to race with the team for the second time at the Euro Challenge in the 2-speed gearbox class. The German driver was 10th in his group in qualifying, which gave him 19th in the combined times. The constantly changing weather conditions saw Fleischmann racing in the wet as well Saturday, where he finished around the first 10 in each of his three heats to rank P25 for the pre-final. The DD2 class was extremely close, with little separating the drivers, but the 15-year old still made up 11 places to start on row 7 for the final. Making some good decisions during the racing together with a bit of luck, he took the chequered flag in a brilliant 6th position.

There were two IFR junior drivers left in the running Sunday afternoon, following Corinna Kamper’s exit from the second chance race earlier in the day, when she started on pole then retired from the race prematurely on lap 1. Maxi Gunkel had a positive start, qualifying 12th, though hoping to have been faster. He was 14th on the grid for the pre-final with his best heat race result 6th, but still around 0.5 seconds off the pace. Unfortunately, the finals were not encouraging due to several racing incidents that shuffled him down the order. Struggling to find any joy, the German driver finished on P21.

A new Junior Max member in the Euro team with IFR at round 3 was Mark Ferencz, who drove the Intrepid Kart for the first time at his international debut and was immediately quick in testing the weekend before when the Ceská Lípa circuit was hit with massive amounts of rain. Timed practice in the dry was not pleasing for Ferencz, with a best lap that gave him 35th on the time sheet, one place ahead of team-mate Kamper. The racing Saturday began to show a turnaround, as the Hungarian improved to take two top 10 results, therefore starting on row 12 for the pre-final. Ferencz made up a few places over the course of the 12-lapper, although the most impressive drive was when he came from grid 19 in the final to finish 7th at his first ever ‘Euro’. He was ecstatic!

Intrepid Force Rotax has continued to work with the majority of their Euro drivers this year with the view of developing them for international competition, so the results achieved by some of the less experienced members was definitely something to be proud of. Naturally, it was disappointing to see senior driver Josh Hart miss out on making the podium, but as we know, there’s still one round remaining in the championship. Sologne Karting at Salbris, France is the nominated venue for the series decider (September 9-13).

Matthew Parry rode the wave of momentum, built up during recent Formula Kart Stars and Super 1 meetings in the UK, to claim a well-deserved international success in round three of the RGMMC Rotax Euro Challenge, held at Sosnova, in the Czech Republic. Coming off back-to-back Formula Kart Stars successes at Rowrah and PF International, the Paul Carr Racing driver headed to the Autodrom Ceska Lipa in confident frame of mind and, despite not having seen the circuit before, was immediately on the pace as three days of practice began.

The shorter than expected layout quickly began to produce 45-second lap times, with the fastest Junior Rotax drivers eventually dipping into the 44s and rivalling some of the mid-grid seniors. Despite not making the elite group in practice, Parry broke out of the 45secs bracket in qualifying, responding to main rival Ed Brand’s 44.7secs lap with a 44.8secs effort of his own, claiming the second fastest time overall and a two pole positions in his three heats.

Having been warm and sunny throughout practice, the weather turned increasingly wet as racing began on Saturday, but Parry remained undeterred, claiming third behind Brand and fellow Briton Josh Webster, in the opening Junior Rotax heat before going on to triumph in his second outing.

Heat three produced some extraordinary racing as, with the entire field on slicks, it poured with rain mid-race, leaving Parry to go head-to-head with Holland’s Kay van Kemenade, in treacherous conditions.

Both youngsters displayed excellent kart control as they slithered around the final few laps, before snaking their way to the chequered flag, where Parry, having given chase for much of the race, got the victory verdict by a scant 0.098secs.

Despite two victories in his three heats, the Bury St Edmunds resident lined up third in Sunday’s pre-final but, with the wide Sosnova layout reducing the difference between odd and even numbered grid slots, there was no advantage to be had from starting on the inside of row two.

Surprisingly, polesitter Brand opted to use his remaining set of new tyres for the race, while the majority of the field decided to keep theirs for the main event later in the day. Brand pulled away at the front, leaving Parry to battle with Webster and van Kemenade for second, taking the position mid-race and holding on to the chequered flag to ensure he joined his countryman on the front row for the final.

Although Brand led the opening lap of the main event, his used rubber began to take its toll, allowing Webster and Parry to move ahead. Webster led until lap five, before the Paul Carr Racing driver seized a lead he was not to lose. After a brief battle with his countryman, Parry extended his advantage over the remaining nine laps, winning by 1.3secs to add another victory to his 2009 haul.

“I am delighted to have won at a major international competition, and this success sits nicely with my recent Formula Kart Stars wins at Rowrah and PFI,” Parry commented afterwards.

“It was a very proud moment to be on the podium as part of a British 1-2-3, and this result gives me a chance of a top-three position overall in the Rotax Euro Challenge.”

By BFP

The competition was close for the series lead in all four classes going into the third round of the championship and following an exciting weekend of racing, the 2009 Rotax Euro Challenge continues to remain undecided, with just one round left to go. Coming from 30 nations, 148 drivers travelled to the summer edition of the ‘Euro’, where the event was hosted for the second year by the Global Assistance Racing Arena Autodrom Ceská Lípa. RGMMC Establishment, as organisers and promoters of the event owned by Austrian Rotax engine manufacturer BRP-Powertrain, were once again grateful for the fabulous hospitality, support and professional approach the local circuit organisation provided.

Changing weather conditions during the meeting played a significant role as the week unfolded. Official timed practice Friday was lucky to be completed before an incredible storm hit the Autodrom complex, bringing strong winds and heavy rain for a brief time until the sun came out immediately after. The qualifying heats experienced a wet track in the morning, then warm and dry with occasional showers to keep it interesting – and that it did. Sunday was perfect to wrap up the round 3 racing, giving both drivers and spectators an ideal day for the finals.

Fawcett “on fire” in Senior Max

A “heated” start to the event is one way Senior Max winner Tom Fawcett (RL Race Team/Tonykart) could describe his Euro campaign in Czechia, after he rolled during free practice earlier in the week and the kart caught on fire. In fact, the Ceská Lipá track had not been one of the British driver’s best memories, after he found himself with a broken wrist in 2008. However, it all turned around and Fawcett was second fastest in qualifying, then started on the front row for the pre-final and eventually took the honours on the day to claim his first European victory…

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