Round 2 of the 2012 ROTAX MAX EURO CHALLENGE held at the 1,275 metre ProKart Raceland circuit at Wackersdorf in
Germany was made even more interesting when the initial series leaders found themselves challenged for the championship as a result of Sunday’s finals. The typically ever-changing Bavarian weather and consequent track conditions fuelled some exciting racing, as the Euro Challenge now in its ninth season organised by RGMMC Establishment continues to grow in depth of quality to be yet more competitive.
British Champ Edward Brand hits the top in Senior Max
Edward Brand found the pace he needed to take a convincing win in Sunday’s final to claim the top of the points table in the European Rotax championship after beginning with a disappointing qualifying session Friday. It realistically came down to sheer strategy of who to follow and when to go on track, plus having the ideal set-up for the grippy track conditions amidst the hot, sticky temperatures in determining grid positions for the heat races. Only 0.001 seconds stood between pole-sitter Charlie Eastwood (IRE) with 51.046 and Euro newcomer Pierce Lehane (AUS) in the third and final group of Senior Max, after Sean Babington (GBR) was fastest in group 2 to post the third best lap ahead of the initial group 1 pace-setter Makino Tadasuke (JAP). Following Saturday’s full race program, it was last year’s Euro number 3 Ed Brand with only one qualifying heat win who eventually topped the ranking in the 72-kart field to start alongside Lehane for the pre-final, with the Aussie taking victory in two races on his series debut. Harrison Scott was looking confident after his impressive 3-wins-from-4 in the heats while the young Japanese driver Makino claimed one heat as well, as did series former Wackersdorf round winner John Friberg. Making up Row 2 for the first of the finals, senior rookie Philip Morin fought hard to beat Eastwood by just one point in the overall heat rankings, where the Irishman was consistent with three 2nd places to start on the outside grid 4.Setting best lap in the process, Harrison took the victory over Brand in the pre-final after passing Philip Morin for P2 then securing the lead at the half-way mark. Unfortunately for Lehane, his hopes disappeared in lap 1 after an incident saw him side-lined to have to start from the back in the final, as would Andy King off row 3 after a mechanical failure. The battle for places was still heated until the last corner, where several of the potential top 10 fell out of contention; although the first three leading the way made their positions clear to the flag. 2012 Round 1 winner Sean Babington was 4th ahead of a close finish for 5th won by Bas de Laat. Following an early collision that involved several karts including Brand caught up momentarily on the opening lap of the final, Scott and Morin had the chance to pull a gap to be a full second ahead of 3rd. However, Brand chased down the pole-sitter and overtook him on lap 11 of 18, stretching his lead immediately. It was another excellent Max final as it was at the opening round in Belgium, which saw Philip Morin stay 3rd and step up for his maiden international senior podium. Bas de Laat was 4th and Thomas Benisri 5th as they crossed the line to win the close battle for minor placing’s inside the first 15. Barrie Pullinger took 6th from Ludwig Morin and Ash Hand, while 2011 Junior World and European number 1 Ukyo Sasahara secured 9th to Glen van Droogenbroeck. For the championship, Ed Brand leads Scott Harrison by 2 points with a 13-point buffer to Sean Babington.
Edward Brand – “It’s really a good result considering I qualified 14th, but didn’t feel I drove that well. The heats were much better so I started the pre-final on pole and we tried something in that race that didn’t work at all. In the final I started on the outside of the front row, but got caught up on another kart in the turn 2 incident after the start so the leaders [Harrison Scott and Philip Morin] managed to get away. I was lapping quicker than Scott and got past him for the lead eventually, expecting he might have a go at trying to overtake me, but I could make a gap between us and maintained it for the win. Thanks must go to the team at Formula K Europe together with HRS Engines for really doing a great job, and Brands of Watford for the support.”
Juniors go head-to head as Janneau Esmeijer dominates
Another new championship leader arose from the German edition of the 2012 Rotax Euro Challenge after Janneau Esmeijer (NED) made a clean sweep of the proceedings across the weekend to equal the points of round 1 winner Harry Webb (GBR). The 15-year old clearly had the qualifying sewn up in the second Junior Max group when he posted a time just over two-tenths quicker than his Team TKP team mate Sam Schippers (NED) with a best lap of 51.627. The Dutch pair was split by Joseph Burton-Harris (AUS) making his European debut at the Wackersdorf event, topping the first session of the class to edge out Schippers by 0.008 seconds for P2.Esmeijer then won all three of his heats to start on grid 1 for Sunday’s pre-final beside the petite junior rookie Lando Norris in his maiden Euro Challenge meeting, who had a win plus a 2nd and 3rd place Saturday. The remaining two qualifiers were won by Sam Schippers to be off grid 3 and Webb, slightly down the order as he struggled otherwise for the first time this season to break into the top 5 during the heats. Rotax Winter Cup place-getter Connor Hall had some good results to start on the second row in the initial final where the incredibly competitive British and Dutch youngsters filled all but one grid position within the top 10 starters. Webb was the early pace-setter in the pre-final, as the sunny, warm day provided perfect racing conditions for drivers and spectators while the sort-after series points would be decided. The lead was never taken from Esmeijer over the 11 laps, although the round 1 victor reeled him in slightly, it was more than a second that separated them when the chequered came out. There was a good dice for places between Norris and Schippers while being hunted by Lars Lamborelle taking 5th from Pepijn Steeman who clocked best lap and Ryan Anderton. Much of the attention, however, was on the racing action further back mid-field, that scrambled the drivers throughout the race and to their credit, only one kart failed to complete the total laps.The final turned on some great viewing for the race fans that travelled to the ProKart Raceland for the event. Even though the results don’t tell the story as it unfolded, the juniors proved they could also please the crowd. The first five places constantly shuffled until Esmeijer found a small gap to steal the lead from Webb trying to defend his line in the closing laps. He was also overcome by Sam Schippers and tiny rookie Lando Norris, to be relegated back to 4th after leading several of the 14 laps. Apart from Webb dropping two positions, the leading pack consisted of the same five drivers in both finals, with Lars Lamborelle in a close finish for 5th over Josh white, who now sits 3rd overall. In 7th was the Dane, Jan Jonck, breaking the obvious monopoly in front of Vince Hercsik with an encouraging drive to come through from P25. Once again inside the first 10 for two consecutive rounds, Max Aitken was 9th ahead of debutant Florian Wiesinger qualifying from the repecharge.
Janneau Esmeijer – “The final was much tougher than the race before; I had a gap in the pre-final after the start when I was in first, but Sam Schippers passed me. By the middle of the race I was back in 4th and saw that I had a gap behind me so I just stayed focused on the front. I got into P2 and had a slipstream from Harry Webb, who started defending, but left a little gap; so I went through to lead. The other drivers caught us so they were close then. It was a good race and I’m looking forward to Kristianstad now for the next round, as I’m on equal points with Harry. I want to say a really big thanks to JVD Tuning, Hank my data guy, Gerard my mechanic, Team TKP and everybody else who helped me. All the little things count!”
Xen de Ruwe fights back in Rotax DD2 to claim round 2
2012 Rotax Winter Cup champ Xen de Ruwe (BEL) (49.458) had out-paced series leader Miika Laiho (FIN) in qualifying by 0.285 seconds, but fell out of the top 10 ranking the next day in the ROTAX DD2 class following one poor result in the heat races. The Belgian could never be discounted going in to the fiercely competitive final and says he avoided any risks to take the race honours, now advancing to 6th in the overall series points. Sandro Lukovic (AUT) new on the scene in the 2-speed category from the Max class, was third fastest in official timed practice before topping the chart for pre-final pole in the ranking after the qualifying heats. He was just ahead of Laiho, also with a race win Saturday while De Ruwe took victory in one heat as well, but ranked 11th. Claiming grid 3 was DD2 front-runner Jules Szymkowiak lining-up alongside Thomas Smith. The DD2 pre-final was a hard race, led initially by Laiho before he and Lukovic began swapping places, only for Szymkowiak to assume P2 before colliding with the series leader. The dicing started again for the prime position as Lukovic was challenged successfully by Lucas Orrock and soon after the order changed yet again as last season’s
Euro vice champion Mathias Detige secured P1. He was the quickest on track, but a shuffle on lap 10 gave Laiho a temporary turn at the front, only to be forced wide in the process. Detige went on to take the flag with a gap of 1.68 seconds using his new set of MOJO tyres unlike the majority, while Szymkowiak battled with Lukovic for 2nd, later receiving a driving standards penalty. So in P2 was Lukovic ahead of Patrick Pearce, then Orrock and Smith in P5. In 6th was De Ruwe then Laiho 7th; also getting a warning from the stewards. Detige managed to hang onto his lead from the lights until De Ruwe worked his way through the places lap-by-lap after dropping to 8th and finally closing in for the pass on lap 9. The action was virtually non-stop from start to finish the entire 18 laps of the race, resulting in some changes to the championship tally. De Ruwe gradually increased his lead to take a convincing win over Detige in a comfortable 2nd to British champ Lucas Orrock, who appeared to be finding his previous good form. Rotax International Open title holder from 2011, Antoine Lepesqueux, had the advantage of a last lap incident to gain two places when Lukovic unsuccessfully attempted to pass Pearce for 4th, also allowing Laiho to claim extra points for 5th. He’s now 4 behind Detige to rank 2nd in the overall classification with two rounds remaining in the championship – Sweden and France. Pearce held on for a very close 6th to beat Smith, Harry Drysdale and Erwin Montfoort in the dash for the line. Rounding out the top 10 and sitting in 5th on the points table mid-season is the Swiss driver Kevin Ludi.
Xen de Ruwe – “At the beginning of the final, the chassis and engine were really amazing! We used the peak of the new tyres well with this set-up and I didn’t take any risks during the race to get this result. A really big thank you must go to my dad and mum, Formula K Europe and HRS Engines, as well as my uncle Marc for all his support. I’m looking forward to the next rounds of the championship and know that being consistent is important.”
Double success for Tamsin Germain in Rotax DD2 Masters
The lady of the gearbox class Tamsin Germain (GBR) succeeded in sealing two-from-two Euro rounds in 2012, giving the DD2 Masters driver a 13-point lead over former Masters European and World number 1 Dennis Kroes (NED) to strengthen her lead in the series where she is placed 15th overall in the very competitive 2-speed class.The best time in qualifying Friday was set by Igor Mukhin (RUS) who was positioned inside the top 20 as the leading Master following the heats, but his podium hopes diminished Sunday afternoon with 6 laps remaining. While attempting to overtake the current Masters class race leader Florent Lambert (GBR), the Russian’s ambitious move cost him 10 seconds and the 3rd place trophy. However, it was Tamsin Germain who savoured the win ahead of Kroes and fellow Dutchman Bart Nuy 3rd.
Tamsin Germain – “We were fast Wednesday at the beginning of practice, but as the grip went down we struggled to find the pace. Qualifying didn’t go so well and yesterday the results were not good in the heats. We made a few changes last night and today it was much better. I started on grid 20 for the final and made up some places until around the half-way mark when I found myself back to P20. I gained some positions to catch the leading Masters who had a coming together; so I was lucky to be able to take the win. It’s a surprising result really, but I’m pretty happy now. A big thanks to my husband/mechanic Dave and to everyone who has supported me.”
All results from round 2 of the 2012 ROTAX MAX EURO CHALLENGE as well as the championship standings, latest news and more information can be found on the official homepage www.rotaxmaxeurochallenge.com
Photos and videos from the series are posted on the RGMMC Establishment page for all Facebook friends.
Round 3 of the ROTAX MAX EURO CHALLENGE will be held at the newly completed complex of the Asum Ring circuit at Kristianstad, Sweden from July 25th – 29th, 2012.
RESULTS 2012 ROTAX MAX EURO CHALLENGE – Round 2 (Wackersdorf, Germany)
ROTAX SENIOR MAX
1. Edward Brand (GBR) - Formula K/Formula K Europe
2. Harrison Scott (GBR) - Tonykart/Strawberry Racing
3. Philip Morin (SWE) - Alonso/Dan Holland Racing
ROTAX JUNIOR MAX
1. Janneau Esmeijer (NED) - Intrepid/TKP
2. Sam Schippers (NED) - Intrepid/TKP
3. Lando Norris (GBR) - RL Racing Dept Ltd/Tonykart
ROTAX DD2
1. Xen de Ruwe (BEL) - Formula K/Formula K Europe
2. Mathias Detige (BEL) - Tonykart/Bouvin Power
3. Lucas Orrock (GBR) - Kosmic/Paul Carr Racing
ROTAX DD2 MASTERS
1. Tamsin Germain (GBR) - Gillard/DG Racing
2. Dennis Kroes (NED) - Tonykart /Team Kroes
3. Bart Nuy (NED) - Intrepid/TKP
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