After an eventful first day, Saturday's Qualifying Heats brought more surprises at the Rødby Karting Ring. In all three categories, the drivers are keen to finish their European tour on a high note, with several still in contention for a prestigious international title. Already leading the Mondokart.com FIA Karting European Championship in OK-Junior, Dutchman Dean Hoogendoorn performed excellently to emerge as the leader in the intermediate standings. In OK, Britain's Roman Kamyab retained his lead after securing pole position, while Spain's Christian Costoya has a clear chance of winning the title. The situation remains wide open in the FIA Karting Academy Trophy - Senior, both for victory in Rødby and for first place in the overall standings.
Roman Kamyab solidly at the top of the OK standings
Before the return of some very welcome sunshine during the day, the drivers had to contend with rain and use wet tyres for the first Qualifying Heats in the morning. The pressure quickly mounted, particularly for the teams and mechanics, with crucial decisions to be made regarding tyres and set-ups. Roman Kamyab (GBR) proved competitive in all conditions. With four wins in five races, he leads the provisional standings ahead of Jensen Burnett (CAN). Both drivers retained their positions from Qualifying. Joe Turney ended his day with a win, moving him up to third place ahead of Filippo Sala (ITA), who won twice.
Fifth with one victory, Zac Drummond (GBR) is determined to fight for a place on the Championship podium. He is within striking distance of Thibaut Ramaekers (BEL) and Daniel Kelleher (IRL), who are in 15th and 31st place respectively in the interim rankings. The other victories in the Qualifying Heats went to Jindrich Pesl (CZE), twice, Vladimir Ivannikov, Iacopo Martinese (ITA) and Christian Costoya (ESP). Costoya is only 19th at this stage of the competition, but the only driver who can knock him off his throne is even further behind (32nd). It would take a miracle for James Anagnostiadis (AUS) to turn the situation around in his favour. The 21-year-old 2022 FIA Karting World Champion - KZ Viktor Gustafsson (SWE) showed that he can still compete with the young karting hopefuls, as evidenced by his 10th place in the Qualifying Heat standings.
Qualifying Heat standings - OK
1- Kamyab, Roman (GBR - LN / TM Kart / Maxxis)
2- Burnett, Jensen (CAN - Exprit / TM Kart / Maxxis)
3- Turney, Joe (GBR - KR / IAME / Maxxis)
4- Sala, Filippo (ITA - Exprit / TM Kart / Maxxis)
5- Drummond, Zac (GBR - KR / IAME / Maxxis)
6- Martinese, Iacopo (ITA - KR / IAME / Maxxis)
7- Pesl, Jindrich (CZE - Tony Kart / Vortex / Maxxis)
8- Krutoholov, Lev (UKR - Energy / IAME / Maxxis)
9- Ivannikov, Vladimir (Birelart / TM Kart / Maxxis)
10- Gustafson, Viktor (SWE - CRG / TM Kart / Maxxis)
Efficiency and consistency for Dean Hoogendoorn in OK-Junior
Matéo Rivals (FRA), who secured pole position, crashed in his final Qualifying Heat, dropping him to seventh place. In the title battle against Noah Baglin (GBR) and William Calleja (AUS), Dean Hoogendoorn (NED) gained a psychological advantage by finishing as leader on Saturday evening ahead of the final showdowns in Sunday's Super Heats and Final. Calleja won three heats, compared to two for Hoogendoorn and one for Baglin, but the Australian also had one retirement. Nothing is lost, as he is in sixth place behind Baglin.
Ahead of them, three drivers played an important role at the front of the field. Sebastian Eskandari-Marandi (AUS) and Ile Crisan (CAN) each won three heats, while Benjamin Manach (ESP) finished with one victory.
Qualifying Heat standings - OK-Junior
1- Hoogendoorn, Dean (NED - KR / IAME / Maxxis)
2- Eskandari-Marandi, Sebastian (AUS - Tony Kart / TM Kart / Maxxis)
3 Crisan, Ilie (CAN - Tony Kart / Vortex / Maxxis)
4- Manach, Benjamin (ESP - Exprit / TM Kart / Maxxis)
5- Baglin, Noah (GBR - KR / IAME / Maxxis)
6- Calleja, William (AUS - Exprit / TM Kart / Maxxis)
7- Rivals, Mattéo (FRA - Tony Kart / Vortex / Maxxis)
8- Arias, Bosco (ESP - LN / TM Kart / Maxxis)
9- Zulfikari, Iskender (TUR - Exprit / TM Kart / Maxxis)
10- Frasnelli, Julian (ITA - Tony Kart / Vortex / Maxxis)
Indecision reigns in Academy - Senior
The Rødby track was completely soaked for the first heat. Niklas Vejen (DEN) did his country proud by winning on home soil, overtaking pole sitter Riccardo Ferrari (ITA). Very comfortable in these conditions, Harrison Whitticombe (GBR) gained 11 places to finish fourth behind Wojciech Woda (POL), who has been at the forefront since the first round of the Trophy. Woda also won the second race, this time contested on Maxxis slick tyres. Ates Birinci (TUR), who struggled more in the rain, held the lead for much of Heat 2 before succumbing to Woda. Vejen did well to finish 4th ahead of Switzerland's Neil Russell, who is gaining momentum. The top two in the Trophy watched each other closely. Finishing fifth and seventh respectively, Yuzuki Sato (JPN) did better than Jules Avril (FRA), who finished seventh and eighth.
The third and final Qualifying Heat will take place on Sunday morning, adding to the two already completed to determine the Qualifying Heat rankings and the starting grid for the final.
Continuation of the provisional programme for the Rødby event
Sunday 3rd August
08:30 - 09:40 Warm-up
09:50 - 10:05 End of Academy - Senior Qualifying Heats
10:10 - 11:55 OK-Junior / OK Super Heats
13:05 - 16:30 Finals and podiums