Performing increasingly well throughout the fourth round of the Champions of the Future Euro Series, the KR-IAME teams ultimately made a clear mark in both categories during the Kristianstad finals. Noah Baglin and Zac Drummond secured a one-two finish in OK, whilst Daniel Miron Lorente crossed the finish line first in the OK-Junior final, before being joined on the podium by Priam Bruno. Ahead of the series’ final round in Sarno in September, Kart Republic factory karts occupy the top three places in the overall series standings, in both OK and OK-Junior.
OK: Baglin’s third consecutive victory in the Euro Series
Starting from P11 on the qualifying grid in Sweden, Noah Baglin (KR Motorsport) worked calmly and efficiently on his kart to arrive on the starting grid for the final with the best possible set-up. The British driver’s talent did the rest: starting from P4, he took the lead shortly before the halfway point of the race, before pulling away from the field. Zac Drummond (Fusion Motorsport) also put in a flawless performance, moving up from P6 to P2. The two Britons thus overtook James Anagnostiadis (KR Motorsport) in the overall standings, but the Australian kept his hopes alive with a brilliant comeback from 20th to 9th place.
Many IAME-powered cars battled it out at the front. Emil Hernandez (DPK Racing) stood out in qualifying by securing second place ahead of Oliveri Sini (KR Motorsport), who was very fast and won a heat in his very first OK race, having only just moved up from the Junior class. Then, the qualifying heats saw Bruno Blanco (KR Motorsport), Marco Garst (Koski Motorsport) and Jakub Kamenik (Lanari Racing Team) come into their own.
OK-Junior: Miron Lorente wins, Bruno remains leader
The gap has narrowed in the overall COTF Euro Series standings between the top three. The Kart Republic factory team stands a strong chance of clinching the title in September with Priam Bruno (258 points), Will Green (236) or Miron Lorente (227). It will all come down to Sarno, although they will need to remain vigilant against the competition. At Kristianstad, several KR-IAME entries took turns at the top: Téo Pelfrène (VictoryLane) and pole-sitter Daniel Miron Lorente (Fusion Motorsport) won two qualifying heats each, whilst Zack Zhu (VictoryLane), Will Green (KR Motorsport) and Priam Bruno (VictoryLane) each claimed one victory.
Zhu confirmed his form by crossing the chequered flag first in his super heat. In the final, Miron Lorente was fifth on the first lap, before overtaking all his rivals to triumph with ease in a spectacular finale. Finishing third in the final, Priam Bruno remains series leader ahead of Green and Miron Lorente. Green finished fifth behind a brilliant Niccolo Perico (KR Motorsport), who fought his way back from 14th place with a blistering pace. In total, there were seven KR-IAME cars in the top 12, with Lorenzo Di Pietrantonio (KR Motorsport) ninth, Marc’Andria Quessada (VictoryLane) 11th and Zhu 12th.
Comment from Glenn Keyaert, KR Global Motorsport Company
“I must say that the KR Motorsport team and the satellite teams have carried out invaluable development work. The competition was fierce at the start of the race at the Kristianstad circuit, but we managed to find the right solutions to win both categories and secure a total of five podium finishes out of a possible six. We lined up on the starting grid for the finals with a very competitive package, perfectly suited to the conditions. Of course, the IAME engines played a key role in this quest for victory. This obviously bodes very well with just a few days to go until the final round of the FIA Karting European Championship.”