Text & photos: www.rotax-kart.com

Micro MAX

The sun rose over the Circuito Internazionale Napoli at 16 degrees Celsius with very little wind as the first session of the event got underway. At precisely 8:48, the Micro MAX engines were started and hit what was a very green track. The first driver on the track of the 2019 event was the n°27 Juliusz Ocipepa. With 15 minutes for the first sessions of the day, the drivers were learning more and more each lap as the track was slowly gripping up. The session ended with Christian Costoya Sanabri fastest with a time of 1:12.755.

The session two for the Micro MAX karts started a few hours later. By this time, the temperature had risen to 26 degrees and the drivers had a tailwind down the start/finish straight. The majority of them managed to complete seven laps in the 8-minute session with the fastest time again going to kart n°2 Christian Costoya Sanabri in 1:10.337, just 0.094 ahead of Tommie Van Der Struijs.

The final Micro MAX session was headed up by n°5 Jay Urwin who completed a lap in 1:10.147. He was followed by Christian Costoya Sanabri on 1:10.155 and Juliusz Ociepa with a 1:10.315.

Mini MAX

Mini MAX started with Costa Toparis heading out on to the track first in kart n°108. By the end of the 15- minute session, Toparis was second at 1:07.579 with a gap of 0.229 seconds to the New Zealand driver Sebastian Manson (1:07.350).

All eyes were on Manson after his early pace going into Non-Qualifying Practice 2. Manson set his best lap early in the session (1:06.419) followed by Toparis (1:06.436) just as before. However, Jayden Thien, Andy Ratel & Troy Snyman were all able to put in better times. Thien finished the session fastest with a time of 1:06.262, 0.103 clear of Ratel in second.

In Practice 3, it was Andy Ratel who posted the overall-fastest performance of the day with a time of 1:05.837. In second place was Kacper Turoboyski who set a time of 1:06.012 and in 3rd was Jolan Raccamier whose fastest lap was a 1:06.015 just 0.003 behind Turoboyski.

Junior MAX

With 72 drivers signed-on for the Junior MAX class, the sessions were split into odd and even numbers. With the track’s grip improving lap after lap, the majority of the drivers set their best laps late in the session. In the odd-numbered group, it was Sacha Maguet who set the pace at 1:02.494 followed by Mike Van Vugt who managed a 1:02.55 on lap 13.

The even-numbered drivers were next out and benefited from the previous session laying down some rubber, Tomass Stolcermanis managed to set a time of 1:02.402 followed closely by Marcel Surmacz just 0.032 seconds adrift (1:02.434). In practice 2, it was Maguet from France again, who set the fastest time for the odd-numbered karts (1:01.290) and Clay Osborne from New Zealand, who finished first in the even-numbered group with a 1:01.056

The final Junior MAX session was topped by the even-numbered Jason Leung with a 1:00.936 followed by fellow even number Tomass Stolcermanis at 1:00.988. Noam Abramczyk, the first of the odd-numbered karts in third overall with a time of 1:01.072. Joint 4th overall went to the odd-numbered Mike Van Vugt & Clay Osborne who both set a time of 1:01.118.

Photo: www.rotax-kart.com

Senior MAX

Senior MAX had 72 drivers signed on and also had their sessions split into odd and even numbers. Elia Galvanin set the pace in number 371 with a time of 1:00.613 followed by Paul Fourquemin (1:00.737) & Matteo Richter 3rd with a time of 1:00.859.

The even-numbered karts followed with Axel Saarniala fastest in a time of 1:00.534 followed by Mario Novak who set a 1:00.711 and Kairo Kivi who set a time of 1:00.745 for third. In Non-Qualifying Practice 2 for the Senior MAX, it was Aleksander Bardas who set the pace with a best time of 1:00.408 followed by Paul Fourquemin from the odd-numbered group setting a time to put him second overall (1:00.553). He was followed by Elia Galvanin who finished third overall (1:00.573).

With the track as good as it is going to get at 24 degrees and a tailwind on the start/finish straight, the Senior MAX drivers headed out for their final practice sessions of the day. In the odd-numbered session, it was Elia Galvanin who took the top spot with the fastest time of 1:00.128 followed by Clayton Ravenscroft 1:00.258 and Paul Fourquemin who managed a 1:00.291. The even group was topped by Shogo Endo with a time of 1:00.302 followed by Aleksander Bardas who managed a 1:00.351 and Tereza Babickova who finished 3rd with a 1:00.395.

DD2 Masters

Henrijs Grube set the pace for the DD2 Masters in Non-Qualifying Practice 1 with a time of 59.874 with Antti Ollikanien in second with a 1:00.143 making them the only odd-numbered karts to be faster than the even numbers karts of the morning. The even-numbered group was topped by Arto Savenius with a 1:00.437 and Luis Ignacio Valenzuela just 0.015 seconds behind with a 1:00.452

In the second Non-qualifying Practice, it was Antti Ollikainen who set the pace with a 59.858 followed closely by Henrijs Grube who was just 0.058 seconds off with a 59.916. Primoz Matelic rounded out the top three in the odd-numbered class and overall with a 1:00.134. The even numbers were headed by Nicholas Verheul with a 1:00.295 exactly one-tenth of a second faster than Arto Savenius with a 1:00.395.

The final session for DD2 Masters was again led by Grube & Ollikainen. With Grube finishing the day at 59.828 and Ollikainen a 1:00.055, the even-numbered karts were again slower than the odd numbers and it was Nicholas Verheul in kart n°540 whose best time was a 1:00.187 with Arto Savenius finishing in 2nd with a 1:00.344

DD2

The DD2 class was also split into odd and even-numbered groups. Denis Thum set the pace for the odds with a time of 59.597 seconds followed very closely by Petr Bezel who set a time of 59.611 just 0.014 seconds off of Thum. The even-numbered karts were led by kart n°472 Cristian Trolese whose fastest time was 59.666 followed by Ragnar Veerus whose fastest lap was 59.834.

In the odd-numbered Non-Qualifying Practice 2, it was Petr Bazel who stole the top spot from Xander Przybylak with the fastest time of 59.494 against Przybylak’s 59.572. The even-numbered karts were led by Luca Munaretto (59.342) against Ryan Kennedy (59.594).

The DD2 karts were the final sessions here at Circuito Internazionale Napoli finishing off the first day of racing at the 2019 Rotax MAX Challenge Grand Finals. It was Nicolas Picot who took top spot from Luca Munaretto with not just the fastest time of the session but the fastest time of the event so far with a lap of 59.252 against Munaretto’s 59.259. Again, for the DD2 class, the even numbers were slightly slower (59.335) led by Petr Bezel.

OVERALL FASTEST LAP TIMES

  • Micromax: 1:10.147 | Jay Urwin | No. 5 | NZL
  • Minimax: 1:05.837 | Andy Ratel | No. 128 | FRA
  • Junior Max: 1:00.936 | Jason Leung | No. 224 | CAN
  • Senior Max: 1:00.128 | Elia Galvanin | No. 371 | ITA
  • DD2: 59.252 | Nicolas Picot | No. 458 | FRA
  • DD2M: 59.828 | Grube Henrijs | No. 559 | LVA

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