Baron, An Unlucky Hero

If Sodi Team’s final assessment of the World Championship M18 in Wackersdorf is a little bit disappointing, it is because both equipment and drivers did have some cards to play in this new and very interesting racing formula.

With 6 drivers defending the team’s colours, the French brand was third in the constructors’ classification in Germany and according to the team manager: «We had the means to have at least 5 of our drivers qualify for the finals. Things started to go bad with Roussel’s carburettor, which saturated with water in timed qualifying, and then Zeen was nastily pushed out in a heat». Léo Roussel tried to regain ground with great determination, but when he had to retire in the last heat he missed out qualification (though narrowly). With a knee injury suffered in the accident, Andrick Zeen followed the same fate. A pity, because with his 15th best time in timed qualifying he largely deserved to pass.

Meanwhile, Alex Baron showed excellent race performances: 8th in timed qualifying, he just kept going better in the heats against his most formidable rivals and finished second in one of the races. No doubt about it: the Sodi chassis were in on it! Mathieu Jaminet alternated some good performances (twice third) to poor ones in the heats. A nice surprise came from British driver Henry Easthope, especially at ease in this very competitive environment. He improved his situation after a distant 55th place in timed qualifying and reached 20th place at the end of the heats, winning his ticket for the finals. A bit in the background, Enzo Marchetti could not find the right pace.

While Roussel was third in the consolation final, the three qualified drivers started the difficult phase of the pre-finals. Once again, Baron showed some excellent performances with a 7th place in the first pre-final and, in particular, a 9th place in the second one, which had a reversed start grid (that means an 18-place recovery during the race!). Jaminet and Easthope were delayed during the intense fights that marked the race.

4th at the start of the final – the decisive race for awarding of points – Baron could still have some real podium ambitions. Unfortunately, he was violently hit on the first bend by an Italian driver, who was immediately excluded from the race by sport commissioners. But the damage was done for Baron, who slipped back to 30th on the first passage at the wheel of a warped chassis. Despite all that, he reached 18th with some stunning times. Jaminet conquered 10 places, Easthope 14 and they finished respectively 12th and 16th.

Nicola De Cola: «Though he was 4 kilos below the mini weight, Alex Baron remained at the top throughout the weekend. Of course, the final result was disappointing, but it is the hard law of competition and we have shown that our equipment is at the top of the form, with all our drivers. Our performances did not go unnoticed and we have already been contacted by a few new drivers for next round».

Info Kartcom / © Photo KSP