RACE-Report

Heat 1: 00:09 / Heat 01:48 / Final : 03:38

Heat 1: 00:11 / Heat 2: 01:45 / Final 1: 03:43

• Starting

  Today, Thursday, July 9, we arrived in Viterbo this morning. It was already 31°C at 9:30 a.m. Under the tent, it felt like 40°C. We assembled the kart and randomly assigned the engine and carburetor. Neither the engine nor the carburetor had been used in COTFA Championsship before. We’re excited to find out how well it performs. The field here is very strong and fully booked, with 32 drivers in the Junior class.

  We expect a track with a lot of grip due to the temperatures and the number of drivers. That’s how we’ve prepared for tomorrow’s practice session.

  Go to sleep now, because we drove all night.

• Practice

  Another hot day at 33°C. In addition to run in the engine during the first stint, we had four more stints to go.

  The grip was already very high by the second stint. That’s why we had to try a few things to reduce the grip. The insights we gained in Greece don’t seem to be working here in Viterbo. In the last stint, we did set the fastest lap time, but we fell behind the others. The field is very tight, and every 1000 second counts.

  Tomorrow we’ll get another engine, which we randomly selected tonight.

  Now the analysis begins, so that we might still be able to make some optimizations to help me go faster.

• Race 1

  Today, the weather conditions were the same as they had been the previous two days. Early Morning 26°C and steady increase to 33°C.

  In Qualifying, I went out too early and couldn't keep up with the group. It didn't go well at all. On top of that, the changed transmission ratio didn't have the expected effect.

  In the first Heat, I got off to another good start and moved up to 20th place. I held that position until the final lap. Then I made one last attack and managed to gain three more places. The chassis wasn't handling well, though. I had a lot of trouble exiting the corners. I also didn't have good grip until toward the end.

  In the second Heat, I was able to move up three positions again right after the start. I managed to hold onto position 21 until two laps before the end, but it took a lot of effort. When we checked the performance of the engine, we discovered that the throttle cable had become loose and could no longer accelerate fully. This was the reason for the loss of power. As a result, I lost three positions again at the end.

  The Final went well, given the circumstances. I got off to another good start and moved up to 15th place after just one lap. I held that position until lap 13, when I lost grip because the tire got too hot. As a result, I dropped two places over the remaining three laps until the finish.

  To be honest, we had imagined the first race would go differently. However, I was consistent, was always able to make up positions from my starting spot, and know the reason for the loss of grip in the final. Tomorrow we'll try to set better times and maintain that level of consistency.

  1. Warm up: P21 (54:98 sec)

  2. Qualifying: P24 (54:95 sec)

  3. Heat 1: P17 / Start: P24 (54:90 sec)

  4. Heat 2: P21 / Start: P24‍ ‍(55:23 sec)

  5. Final: P17 / Start: P20 (55:06 sec)

• Race 2

  The conditions were the exact same as the previous three days. It was just getting more and more grippy.

  During the Warm Up, I immediately noticed that even the new engine wasn’t any better than the one from Race 1. However, Axel Nocom had that engine yesterday and achieved good results. For us, the chassis setup and the engine-carburetor tuning just weren’t right.

  In Qualifying, we tried to go out late with the fast group. We had to wait a long time, so we only got to do three laps. Unfortunately, my lap was the first one to be timed. That wasn’t good at all.

  In the first Heat, I got off to another great start and moved up from P25 to P10. However, Gonzalez hit my right rear wheel, catapulting me high into the air. Luckily, I didn’t drop out of the race entirely, but the rear axle was damaged. I drove as best I could while the rear wheel vibrated heavily. After 9 laps, I finished way back in the field.

  With a lot of help from the mechanics, we managed to change the axle for second Heat . That heat went very well. At the start, I was only able to move up two positions, but I was able to overtake consistently throughout the race. It was the first time the chassis handled reasonably well on the track. However, I still struggled with my performance coming out of the corners.

  In the Final, I had to start way in the back again. However, I got off to a good start and had a solid race. I moved up 12 spots and won the “Best Moover” title. It was a small reward for the disappointing race weekend. I had set my expectations high and made very few driving mistakes. But the chassis and engine/carburetor setup just wasn’t right at all.

  1. Warm up: P27 (55:64 sec)

  2. Qualifying: P25 (54:99 sec)

  3. Heat 1: P26 / Start: 25 (55:77 sec), rear axle defect

  4. Heat 2: P18 / Start:P25 (55:20 sec)

  5. Final: P12 / Start: P24 (55:27 sec) biggest mover