Mülsen celebrates its first Pole Position Winners in FIA Karting
Fast and popular with the drivers, the Mülsen circuit in Germany hosted some highly competitive Qualifying sessions on its debut in an international FIA Karting event. For Dutchman Jayden Thien, competing in the Mondokart.com European Championship - KZ2, and Frenchman Maël Le Marchand in the Academy-Junior Trophy, it was also a first pole position. Mattéo Spirgel, also from France, repeated his performance from the previous event in Italy, once again proving himself the fastest in KZ.
KZ: A second Pole Position for Mattéo Spirgel
The rain forecast for the first two days of the competition ultimately had little impact on the private and official Free Practice sessions on Thursday and Friday. The drivers were able to prepare calmly for the Qualifying sessions, which took place in welcome sunshine in the late afternoon. The LeCont "prime" tyres performed perfectly, with small gaps between the top 12 drivers.
On his second fast lap, Giuseppe Palomba (ITA) broke the 46-second barrier with a time of 45.994, less than a tenth ahead of Jean Nomblot (FRA) and Danilo Albanese (ITA). Palomba improved further on the next lap with a time of 45.808, but was ultimately pipped by the young and fast Mattéo Spirgel (FRA) by just 14 thousandths of a second. By an even smaller margin of a thousandth of a second, Senna Van Walstijn (NED) emerged in third place at the expense of Albanese. Behind Nomblot in fifth place, Emilien Denner (FRA) was the only driver to improve on the final lap before the chequered flag. He therefore moved ahead of Cristian Bertuca. Championship leader Pedro Hiltbrand (ESP) had to settle for tenth place.
Top 10 KZ Qualifying results
1- Spirgel, Matteo (FRA) Sodi / TM Kart / LeCont - 45.794
2- Palomba, Giuseppe (ITA) Maranello / TM Kart / LeCont - 45.808
3- Van Walstijn, Senna (NED) Sodi / TM Kart / LeCont - 45.888
4- Albanese, Danilo (ITA) KR / IAME / LeCont - 45.889
5- Nomblot, Jean (FRA) Sodi / TM Kart / LeCont - 46.015
6- Denner, Emilien (FRA) IPK / TM Kart / LeCont - 46.048
7- Bertuca, Cristian (ITA) Birelart / TM Kart / LeCont - 46.062
8- Ippolito, Paolo (ITA) KR / IAME / LeCont - 46.103
9- Vasile, Daniel (ROU) Birelart / TM Kart / LeCont - 46.149
10- Hiltbrand, Pedro (ESP) Birelart / TM Kart / LeCont - 46.159
KZ2: Jayden Thien - A Rookie at the top of the rankings
As in KZ, some drivers managed to break the 46-second barrier, averaging nearly 103 km/h with top speeds of around 155 km/h. There were 61 drivers in total, divided into three groups in this category. In the first group, Championship leader Maksim Orlov did not disappoint, setting his best lap of 45.990, but Jayden Thien did even better with a time of 45.971 at the very end of the session. Just behind him, Timo Jüngling (GBR) and Rasmus Buxom Andersen (DEN) also set excellent laps.
On home turf, Maximilian Schleimer (GER) did not disappoint, setting the fastest time in Group 2 with 46.218, but remained some way behind Thien. The next two places went to Markus Kajak (EST) and Arthur Poulain (FRA). Group 3 saw no change in the pole position despite the efforts of Marek Skrivan (CZE) with 46.182 and his pursuers Noah Wolfe (GBR) and Tigran Bunatyan.
Top 10 KZ2 Qualifying Results
1- Thien, Jayden (NED) Sodi / TM Kart / LeCont - 45.971 (Gr. 1)
2- Skrivan, Marek (CZE) IPK / TM Kart / LeCont - 46.182 (Gr. 2)
3- Schleimer, Maximilian (GER) Sodi / TM Kart / LeCont - 46.218 (Gr. 3)
4- Orlov, Maksim Sodi / TM Racing / LeCont - 45.990 (Gr. 1)
5- Wolfe, Noah (GBR) Birelart / TM Kart / LeCont - 46.238 (Gr. 2)
6- Kajak, Markus (EST) IPK / TM Kart / LeCont - 46.306 (Gr. 3)
7- Jüngling, Timo (GBR) Sodi / TM Racing / LeCont - 46.083 (Gr. 1)
8- Bunatyan, Tigran IPK / TM Kart / LeCont - 46.296 (Gr. 2)
9- Poulain, Arthur (FRA) Energy / TM Kart / LeCont - 46.354 (Gr. 3)
10- Andersen, Rasmus Buxbom (DEN) Birelart / TM Kart / LeCont - 46.197 (Gr. 1)
Academy-Junior: Maël Le Marchand continues to mark his territory
While Mülsen hosts the final round of the Mondokart.com FIA Karting European Championships - KZ and KZ2, the Academy Trophy will have to wait until its third and final round in September in Cremona (Italy) to reach its conclusion. Winner in Valencia in May, Maël Le Marchand (FRA) showed his rivals that he intended to confirm his leadership in the overall standings. Starting in the first group, he waited until the last lap of the Qualifying session to set the fastest time of 50.638, leaving Bautista Panetta (ARG) more than two tenths behind. Nicola Frigg (SUI) also managed to break the 51-second barrier.
Oiva Vettenranta (FIN) put in a fine effort with a time of 50.791 in Group 2, but it was not enough to deprive Le Marchand of his first pole position in this Trophy. Ranked fairly far down in the Final in Spain, Nik Brecelj (SLO) and Filip Planeta (CZE) will be able to enjoy a flattering position on the starting grid for the Qualifying Heats. On the other hand, the drivers currently in second and third place in the Trophy did not perform as expected: Nojus Stasionis (LTU) is only 26th and Erik Poulsen (SWE) 13th, while Germany's Emilio Bernd (GER) is ranked 15th.
Top 10 Academy-Junior Qualifying results
1- Le Marchand, Mael (FRA) - 50.638 (Gr. 1)
2- Vettenranta, Oiva (FIN) - 50.791 (Gr. 2)
3- Panetta, Bautista (ARG) - 50.891 (Gr. 1)
4- Brecelj, Nik (SLO) - 50.843 (Gr. 2)
5- Frigg, Nicola (SUI) - 50.933 (Gr. 1)
6- Planeta, Filip (CZE) - 50.898 (Gr. 2)
7- Moore, Jack (RSA) - 51.033 (Gr. 1)
8- Cichoracki, Tomasz (POL) - 50.954 (Gr. 2)
9- Rodriguez Fuente, Hernan (ESP) - 51.043 (Gr. 1)
10- Campbell, Hamish (AUS) - 50.978 (Gr. 2)
Identical equipment for all Academy-Junior drivers: Exprit / Vortex / LeCont
Continuation of the Provisional Programme for the Mülsen Event
Saturday 19th July
09:00 - 10:00: Warm-up
10:05 - 15:35: Qualifying Heats
Sunday 20th July
09:45 - 10:45: Warm-up
10:55 - 11:30: End of Academy-Junior Qualifying Heats
11:35 - 12:20: KZ2 Super Heats
12:25 - 12:45: KZ Super Heat
13:45 - 16:50: Finals and podium ceremonies
The Mülsen event can be followed via live timing and streaming on the website www.fiakarting.com.