As the Qualifying Heats have been wrapped up on Thursday afternoon, the 360 drivers entered in the 20th Rotax MAX Challenge Grand Finals were up against their respective Prefinal races yesterday on the Circuito Internazionale Di Napoli of Sarno.
The tension moved up a grade in the Senior MAX class coming to the race where a good classification could prove crucial in order to qualify for the ultimate race of the week where only the 36 best out of 72 participants will compete.
Qualified on the fifth row of the grid in the Prefinal A thanks to two Top Ten-finishes in his heats, Jace made again an efficient start and gained a position at lights out while keeping a hungry field of rivals behind him. Lapping at a pace close to the drivers upfront, he kept his head down and his foot on the throttle throughout the 15 rounds of the race concluded in ninth place after a very close midfield battle!
As a result of his latest performance, added to the points previously collected in his Qualifying Heats, Jace will start today’s Senior MAX Final from the eighth row on the grid. With lots of confidence in himself and in his material, the Team USA member hopes to conclude his first Rotax MAX Challenge Grand Finals on the best note by recovering the field as high as possible in what will be the longest race of the week with 20 laps from start to finish.
“Yesterday felt really good: the conditions, the material, the racing and I’m qualified for the Final! Now, starting from 16th on the outside of the grid won’t make things easy but I’ve proved so far that I have the pace and a well-prepared chassis to be able to fight my way up! I feel very excited for this race, so let’s conclude my journey at Sarno the best way possible!” said Jace in his daily debrief.
The Final of the Senior MAX class is scheduled at 14:45 (CET). You can follow the final stage of Jace’s maiden participation at the Rotax MAX Challenge Grand Finals with Team USA by clicking here.
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- Day 4: Mixed outcomes in last two heats
- Day 3: Strong opening heat!
- Day 2: Hard set-up work & improving pace
- Day 1: Discovering the track of Sarno
- Jace Denmark-Gessel eager to shine in his first Rotax MAX Challenge Grand Finals!
- Text: Guillaume Alvarez
- Photo: Alex Vernardis / The RaceBox
