RMCGF Day 3: Circuito Internazionale Di Napoli
Sarno, Italy – Welcome to the third day of the RMC Grand Finals 2019 and the second day of track action, with three more non-qualifying practice sessions for each driver. In addition, it was the beginning of free practice for the Rotax THUNDeR E-Karts which silently hit the track. After the initial day of practice yesterday when everyone was getting more familiar with the circuit, the drivers appeared to be pushing a hard started to push harder from the morning. The temperature on the circuit during the first round of the non-qualifying sessions was around 16 degrees, with minimal wind, making the morning very similar to the first practice sessions yesterday.
Micro MAX
Day 2 of track action at the 2019 Rotax MAX Challenge Grand Finals started once again with Micro MAX. The session was led by the young Argentine driver, Ayrton Perez (1:10.483) followed by Lenn Nijs (1:10.561) & Griffin Peebles (1:10.601)
Just as it did on Monday, the air temperature rose to 26 degrees and the wind picked up. The second Micro MAX session of the day started at 11.08 and it was Jay Urwin who posted the fastest time (1:09.632) followed by Peebles (1:09.776) and Perez (1:09.815).
The final Micro MAX session of the day was led by Nijs who set his best time on lap 6 (1:09.436) narrowly edging out Tommie Van Der Struijs by just 0.003 secs (1:09.493) and Christian Costoya Sanabri (1:09.482) 0.046 secs off the fastest time. Monday’s fastest driver Jay Urwin only managed a 1:10.218 which left him down in 19th.
Micro MAX will return for their final non-qualifying session tomorrow at 8.28am (CET).
Mini MAX
Mini MAX headed out onto the track shortly after the Micro MAX’s and again it was Jayden Thien who set the fastest lap with a 1:05.526 against yesterday’s fastest driver Andy Ratel with a 1:05.706. In the second session for Mini MAX, it was Ratel (1:05.364) who stole the top spot from Thien (1:05.382), leaving Costa Toparis in 3rd with a 1:05.411.
The third and final session for Mini MAX of the day was led by Toparis who set the fastest Mini MAX time of the weekend (1:05.291). Behind was Thien (1:05.330), Simon Kristensen (1:05.429) and Ratel (1:05.446) to round out the top 4.
Mini MAX will be back on track at 8.41am (CET) tomorrow.
Junior MAX
Just as yesterday the Junior MAX drivers were split into odds and evens due to the number of drivers signed-on. The odd-numbered karts went first and it was Oli Pylka who set the best time of the session on lap 6 with a 1:01.126 followed closely by Sacha Maguet (1:01.146) and Connor Zilisch (1:01.185).
The even-numbered karts followed with Clay Osborne on form again setting the best time (1:00.876). He was followed by yesterday’s fastest driver Jason Leung (1:00.913) and Sami-Joe Abi Nakhle (1:00.950).
The second Junior MAX odd-numbered session had an entirely different top three from session 1. Kris Haanen finished 1st with a 1:00.469 followed by Luca Mars (1:00.540) and Mike Van Vugt (1:00.582). The even-numbered karts were led by Leung (1:00.477), Marcel Surmacz (1:00.490) and Abi Nakkhle (1:00.495). The third and final non-qualifying practice for Tuesday was ruled by Osborne whose best lap was a 1:00.491 behind him in the even-numbered class was Surmacz (1:00.581) and Charlie Wurz (1:00.610)
Junior MAX will return tomorrow at 8.54am (CET).
Senior MAX
The odd-numbered kart of Paul Fourquemin set the pace in the first Non-Qualifying Practice of the day with a 1:00.061. He was followed by Matteo Richter (1:00.100) and Elia Galvanin (1:00.112). The fastest time in the even-numbered group was set by Yuga Furutani (1:00.064) followed by Oakley Pryer (1:00.087) and Lachlan Robinson (1:00.103).
In the second round of sessions for Senior MAX the odd-numbered karts of Fourquemin, Clayton Ravenscroft & Rhys Hunter were the first of the seniors to break the 1-minute barrier. Fourquemin set the fastest Senior MAX time of the week so far with at 59.899 secs with Ravenscroft (59.902) in second and Hunter’s (59.946) in third. The even-numbered karts were slower than the odd numbers. Axel Saarniala took the top spot with a 1:00.061, Ryan Norberg with a 1:00.135 and in third Tereza Babickova with a 1:00.149.
The third session for the Senior MAX class started with the odd-numbered kart of Fourquemin taking the fastest time with a 1:00.127 making him the only driver to be fastest in every session. He was followed by Galvanin (1:00.315) and Hunter (1:00.315).
The even-numbered karts finished their day with Saarniala setting the fastest time (1:00.131). Behind was Furutani (1:00.151) and Endo Shogo (1:00.181).
The Senior MAX karts will be back at 9.20am (CET) tomorrow morning.
DD2 Masters
In the first Non-qualifying practice for the DD2 Masters, it was Antti Ollikainen who set the fastest overall lap (59.426) followed by Matias Rodriguez (59.426) and Roberto Pesevski (59.603). Unlike yesterday with the added grip on the track, the odd-numbered karts have been faster than the even-numbered. The fastest even-numbered DD2 Master, Arto Savenius finished 6th overall with a (59.726) followed by Rudy Champion (59.746) and Nicholas Verheul (59.812).
The second session for the DD2 Master’s odd numbers was led by Rodriguez with 59.690 secs followed by Dimitris Zervos (59.756) and Pesevski (59.759). In the even-numbered group, it was Derek Wang who finished at the top of the timesheet with a time of 59.820 secs. He was followed by Verheul (59.865) and Slawomir Muranski (59.909)
The third session for the DD2 Masters was ruled by the odd-numbered Ollikainen who posted a time of 59.528 secs followed by Rodriguez (59.806) and Pesevski (59.878). The even-numbers karts were led by Verheul (59.735), Savenius and Muranski (59.896).
DD2 Masters will start again tomorrow morning at 9.46am (CET) starting with the odd numbers.
DD2
Even-numbered Nicolas Picot started the day as he finished yesterday with the fastest time in DD2 (58.947) he was followed by Diego Portell (59.027) in 2nd and Jakub Bezel (59.046) in 3rd. The odd-numbered drivers were a little slower than the evens with the fastest time (59.100) set by Petr Bezel. He was followed very closely by Matvejs Makusins (59.109) and Jonathon Marcusson (59.120).
The second session of odd-numbered DD2 karts was fronted by Dimitris Vasileris whose fastest time was 58.906 secs followed by Ville Viiliainen (58.953) and Bezel (58.993). The even numbers went even faster with Daniel Machacek’s time of 58.748 secs against Luca Munaretto (58.900) and Portell (58.910).
The third non-qualifying practice session for the DD2 odd numbers was won by Bezel (58.983) with Vasileris (59.098) in 2nd and Francesco Palladino (59.136) in 3rd. The even-numbered karts finished their day with Cristian Trolese setting a 58.994, Munaretto (59.041) secs and Picot (59.114) in third.
The DD2 karts will complete their non-qualifying practice sessions at 10:12 (CET) tomorrow morning.
Rotax THUNDeR (DEKM)
For the first time at the 2019 Rotax MAX Challenge Grand Finals, the DEKM karts took to the track. With everyone learning the track and getting a feel for the set-ups it was Jie Kao who silently posted the fastest time (1:05.002), Jasin Ferati finished 2nd (1:05.150) and Benijamin Cartery (1:05.463) finished 3rd. As the sun started to set over the track the final session of the day was DEKM with the fastest time going to Ferati (1:04.947) followed by Kao (1:04.950) in 2nd and Ben Pinto (1:05.358) in 3rd.
The DEKM karts will be first on track tomorrow morning at 08:13 (CET).
OVERALL FASTEST LAP TIMES
Micromax: 1:09.436 | Lenn Nijs | No. 11 | BEL
Minimax: 1:05.291 | Costa Toparis | No. 108 |AUS
Junior Max: 1:00.469 | Kris Haanen | No. 269 | NLD
Senior Max: 59.899 | Paul Fourquemin | No.347 | FRA
DD2: 58.748 | Daniel Machacek | No. 436 | AUT
DD2M: 59.426 | Antti Ollikaine | No. 537 | FIN
DEKM: 1:04.947 | Jasin Ferati | No. 609 | CHE
Stay tuned for our upcoming daily reports, which bring the intense action of the RMCGF to you!