2015 CIK-FIA Best-Of: European title for Hanley

The experienced British driver Ben Hanley never left the lead of the 2015 CIK-FIA European KF Championship throughout the three Competitions on the calendar. Dominating from Portugal onwards, he brilliantly withstood his countryman Tom Joyner in England before concluding his momentum in a turbulent Competition in Sweden. With a strong field, the 2015 Championship has seen three different winners, but Hanley consistently imposed with a new chassis brand, Croc Promotions, against Joyner, his main rival, while winning his first European title at 30 years old.

Hanley surprises his opponents in Portimao (PRT)
At the first CIK-FIA Competition held on the Kartdromo do Algarve, Ben Hanley (Croc Racing Promotions-TM-Vega) routed the main favourites. The young Russian Alexander Vartanyan (Tony Kart-Vortex-Vega) was prominent during Qualifying Practice ahead of Tom Joyner (Zanardi-TM-Vega Racing) and Felice Tiene (CRG-Parilla-Vega). The confrontation between different generations of Drivers has also spiced up the Competition. Although Vartanyan returned to 3rd behind Hanley and Tiene after the Qualifying Heats, the German Hannes Janker (CRG-Parilla-Vega) joined the leaders in the final stages. In both the Prefinal and Final, Hanley quickly escaped alone in the lead while Joyner went back to 2nd position in the Final ahead of Tiene.

Joyner shines at home at PFI (GBR)
Although starting far back with his 23rd position in the Qualifying Practice, Tom Joyner came back to the top five in the Prefinal before beating Ben Hanley in the Final after battling hard against the young Dutch poleman Richard Verschoor (Exprit-Vortex- Vega), who won the CIK-FIA Karting Academy Trophy in 2014. Hanley ensured a 2nd place that was important for the Championship while the American Juan Correa (Energy-TM-Vega Racing) finished on the 3rd step of podium.

Armstrong in the spotlight at Kristianstad (SWE)
The completion as fierce in Sweden, with Drivers determined to look good even if they can not compete for the title. Thus Nicklas Nielsen (Tony Kart-Vortex-Vega) took the pole position in Qualifying Practice and his young New Zealand teammate Marcus Armstrong (Tony Kart-Vortex-Vega) won the Final in front of Richard Verschoor and Tom Joyner. Ben Hanley had dominated the Qualifying Heats and the Prefinal, but had to settle for 5th place in the Final after carburetion problems, which did not prevent him from winning the 2015 CIK-FIA European KF Championship with 65 points ahead of Tom Joyner (60 points) and Richard Verschoor (61 points).

The sporting career of the Briton Ben Hanley has no equivalent. Champion of Great Britain in ICA-Junior in 1998, he went on to win numerous international victories in karting before moving to cars in 2005. Formula Renault 2.0, then 3.5 and finally GP2 gave him great opportunities to shine but he failed to get to F1, mainly for financial reasons. Hanley came back to Karting from 2009 as a professional driver with flattering results. But he had to wait until he was 30 years old to finally be rewarded with a title of CIK-FIA European Champion, in the KF category. Since 2013, he is one of the few drivers capable of great performances in both KF and KZ.

– Can you tell us about your amazing career?
I have always been as devoted to the pursuit of victory in karting as well as cars. It is my passion and my reason for living. At some point, it was natural that I try my luck in single-seaters and this also went pretty well. I did the maximum and I won races, I was well placed in major championships. Honestly, I have no regrets. We all have the right to take a chance. After GP2 it became too difficult to continue without a big budget, which I did not have. Karting offered me a second opportunity when I found a team that I knew well and who is like my second family. At Maranello, ART GP and now Mad-Croc, I followed Armando Filini and his mechanics faithfully. It’s a great story for me.

– How did you win this first European Championship?
I have won many victories in my career, but never a title. Racing is always a very complex area where the slightest detail can deprive you of the expected success. I must say that this year, with Mad-Croc, we staked everything on the major championships. Early in the season, we even paused in our racing programme to intensify the development and testing of our factory TM Racing engine. This paid off at the first European race at Portimao. I assured 2nd place at PFI and I was still in it for the win in Kristianstad. Carburetion problems relegated me to 5th position, but it was enough to finally be crowned!

As a top level KF and KZ Driver, what motivates you today?
I’m still passionate about competition. I participate in the development of some single-seater championships, which is very interesting, but my main activity is that of professional karting driver. It is natural that I work in the main categories in which my team is engaged. As I am still in good shape, it’s a real pleasure to race in both KF and KZ. The most important thing is to fight for the victory and I still have more championships to win!