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The WSK Euro Series had started very strongly for Douwe Dedecker at the Circuito Internazionale Napoli in Sarno, at the feet of Mount Vesuvius, with a strong Qualifying that would see him start on the front row for all his heats! A good omen for things to come as it was followed by strong race results placing him in Pole position for his Prefinal, followed by a win. However, the Final of that weekend didn’t go to plan when an incident caused him to retire in the openings laps. Despite this misfortune, the young driver left Sarno with the fourth place in the overall classification, looking forward to the next race.
The Second Round in Angerville, in France, however, didn’t go to plan as, already on Friday, a mechanical problem meant Douwe had to watch Qualifying from the sideline. Despite this early setback, he never gave up and made it to the Final but with no points result.
The Third Round of the Competition at Lonato marked the end of bad luck for the Team Driver Racing Kart protege. As early as Qualifying he took the fastest lap, a performance that made him start ahead of his group in the heats where he remained almost unbeaten with four wins and a second place. Provisional leader of the category, he dominated his Prefinal from Pole to flag before putting another demonstration in a Final that he won without a challenge, taking his very first victory in a WSK Series.
This last victory brought him back to third, only a few points away from the standings leader, and Douwe knew his chances of winning the 60 Mini title were well alive when stepping on the Adria Karting Raceway for the closing round of the Series. In this special series final run in the night, he had a good Qualifying and kept his momentum going in the heats with two Top Three-finishes that placed him on the second grid row for his Prefinal.
A tough Prefinal race saw him finish fifth, and at this point, it was wiser to avoid any risk for positions in the short final but make sure he would maintain his place in the standings. The race conclusion found him in tenth, collecting enough points to ensure the podium in the WSK Euro Series. A well-deserved end result that could be the first of numerous other strong performances to come for the Belgian hopeful!
The young driver under the supervision of his coach, Rick Dreezen, now shifts focus to the upcoming races in the ACI Italian Championship, and the IAME Euro Series, with the target by the end of the season to compete in the IAME International Final at Le Mans and the SKUSA Supernationals in Las Vegas!
Text: Guillaume Alvarez
Photos: Alex Vernardis / The RaceBox
