Team France: Black Thursday in Portimao

Free practice and qualifying had demonstrated excellent overall performance for the 10 drivers in Team France. Pansart was third in DD2 Masters Qualifying, Finkesltein 3rd in Senior, Lepesqueux seventh in DD2 were the best performers and inspired the whole group, so the omens were good for a beautiful and dynamic Rotax Max Challenge World Final 2012.

Morale was strong on Thursday morning, as the wind had eased since yesterday and the sun was shining on the Algarve. There was earth-shattering drama in Junior Max: at the start of the race, Thomas Lawrence was the victim of a collision causing him to go off before the start. Then he raised the bar with a welcome 9th place. Anthony Fotia saw his ascent upset by an incident after two laps, so was 24th at the end of the opening round. He managed to return to the forefront of the next race, occupying the lead for a few laps before ending up in a big fight and was severely disrupted. He finished 11th.

The Senior Maxes on the Sodi Celesta started the day with a good result for Alexander Finkelstein, capable of competing for the lead, even though he finished seventh after some overtaking, while Xavier Pozzoli continued his good momentum from the previous day, 16th in the first heat despite a penalty. But misfortune fell on them at the start of the second race: their mechanics read a schedule sheet wrong that was particularly unclear and failed to enter the pre-grid at the right time. The sanction was immediate and heavy …

In DD2 Masters for drivers over 32 years old, Charlie Hipp isn’t always in World Cup meetings with famous international drivers. With growing satisfaction in discovering the joys of DD2, he took two 7th positions, with consistent performance all day from the French driver. His cousin Morgan Hipp was 17th in the first race, but didnt finish the next due to a broken exhaust. Guy Pansart had a lot of confidence in himself after leading the first heat for a long time, before being overtaken at the end by Cristiano Morgado, the defending champion. He was less strong in the second heat because of a concern with the brake and the rear bearing, and he could do no better than seventh. He was nevertheless in the best position on Thursday night. William Berteaux drove a very fast machine at it’s best, but was somewhat handicapped in the race, with a 7th place start and 10th at the finish with some concerns about carburation. He will need to solve the problem by tomorrow.

In DD2 the level continues to rise, Antoine Lepesqueux suffered in his first heat: dirtily pushed off in the first heat, he tried to recover when a driver cut across the track, forcing him to retire. Fortunately he caught up with a nice 5th place in the next heat. Sébastien Bertrand took 20th and 21st positions, regaining some ground in each. He was not completely satisfied with the balance of the Mach 1.

The final heats will be on Friday morning and will be decisive for the qualification of all the drivers of Team France, some of whom are in a complicated situation and are already thinking about the Repechage. It is a shame that the so far very good performance by the French drivers might not get them their just reward in the finals.

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