At the second round of the FIA Karting European Championship – OK/Junior, on the circuit of Genk in Belgium, the opportunity of making a good result in the OK class faded just one step away from the podium that Pedro Hiltbrand and the Racing Team had been building during a perfect weekend.
Unfortunately, a few laps before the end of the Final, Pedro Hiltbrand had to retire unexpectedly for a banal technical problem related to the spark plug. Really a pity as the CRG Spanish driver could not fight for the podium after being on top during all the heats until conquering the Pole position for the Final. The race week in Belgium was also conditioned by changeable weather.
Among the drivers of the CRG Racing Team, even the young Brazilian driver Gabriel Bortoleto had some bad luck in the OK class as he had to make a great recovery after retiring in one of the heats. In the end, Bortoleto managed to regain 11 positions until conquering a good 13th place. Instead, just for one point, the Spanish Ayrton Fontecha missed the qualification for the Final as well as the Dutch Kas Haverkort, with the CRG Keijzer Racing, having to start from the bottom of the grid in all the heats after receiving a penalty in the Qualifying practice.
In OK Junior, the Spanish Lucas Pons made a good race, 19th in the Final after recovering eight positions. Two stops in the heats compromised, instead, Enzo Trulli’s qualification for the Final after reaching a positive and promising 8th place against the clock.
The drivers’ comment:
Pedro Hiltbrand (OK): “We are professionals so we have to analyze the weekend in a rational way, despite the bad luck that stopped us in the Final. Our balance is for sure positive, from the technical point of view: the chassis proved to be competitive under all track conditions and we also improved a lot for what concerns the engines. Podium and results will arrive soon.”
The next round of the FIA Karting European Championship – OK/Junior will take place in Kristianstad, Sweden, on June 6th.
Report & Photos: Press Office CRG SpA
Editing: Guillaume Alvarez
