Consistently at the front of the field since his arrival at IPK, Markus Kajak rose to the challenge at Sarno by climbing to the second step of the KZ2 podium. The Formula K SRP Factory Team driver moved up to 2nd in the European Championship standings. In KZ2 Masters, the title was close for Davide Fore and his IPK chassis in Praga colours. The Italian had just taken the lead on the last lap of the Final, before being pushed. The whole team were understandably disappointed...
Markus Kajak still in the hunt for the KZ2 title
At the opening round of the European Championship in Valencia, an incident at the start of one of the heats prevented Markus Kajak from fighting for the podium. As fast as ever, the Estonian took his revenge in Italy. After qualifying P2, just 4 thousandths off pole position, Kajak won two heats, then finished P2 in the Super Heat with the fastest lap of the race. He also crossed the finish line of the Final in 2nd place with great competitiveness from the first to the last lap.
His team-mate Tigran Bunatyan had been on course for podium honours in Spain, but this time he suffered his share of misfortunes in the heats. Nonetheless, he put in a magnificent Final run, coming back from 23rd to 14th place with some excellent lap times, giving him 4th place in the Championship. Jiri Becicka and Edoardo Mormorelli continued to make progress, but Matej Preuss deserved a better result after his brilliant 9th place. As for Marek Skrivan, he was solid from start to finish, finishing P3 in one heat, P5 in the Super Heat and P8 in the Final.
In the Team Championship, the Formula K SRP Factory Team finished 2nd and the IPK Factory Team 6th.
KZ2 Masters: A European Champion takes flight
With the efficiency of the IPK chassis, the performance of the SRP Engines and the focus of the entire Praga team around talented driver Davide Fore, everything was in place to aim for overall victory. With a total of three wins in the heats and Super Heats, the Italian earned his place on pole position for the Final. Although his main rival got off to a better start, Davide Fore soon showed that his lap speed was superior. Davide explains what happened next:
"What happened in the Final is clearly not an example to show young drivers. It's legitimate to defend yourself, but what I saw throughout the race doesn't correspond to what a European Championship race should be. The way the driver in front of me zigzagged down the straight was simply embarrassing. After trying to overtake him several times, I finally took the lead on the last lap, but he chose to push me out of the corner. The result: a rear bumper ripped off and a damaged chassis! I managed to finish 4th, before being demoted to 9th because of my badly positioned front fairing."
IPK Technical Manager Cash van Belle had the last word...
"I'll remember the high level of performance of our equipment at Sarno, and I'm pleased that Markus Kajak was able to demonstrate this by finishing on the KZ2 podium. Davide Fore's explanation sums up the outcome of the KZ2 Masters Final, and we are disappointed, both for him and for the team and our engine manufacturer. Finally, it is also very regrettable that several drivers had to stop in the KZ Final because of tyres. This was the case for Emilien Denner, who started 4th in the Final, and for David Trefilov, who had just broken into the top 10. We lost some important points in the overall standings!”