D-Day -30 for the “U18” World Championship: The count-down begins

30 days from D-Day, the count-down has begun for the 134 Drivers who will take part in the second edition of the CIK-FIA “U18” World Championship and Academy Trophy. Within one month they will have found a shelter under the tents pitched by the CIK-FIA in the paddock of Ortona, in Italy, and will get ready to discover, for most of them, this new circuit which saw the light only just a few months ago on the initiative of the Dragani father & son. The complex is bound to appeal to the Drivers with its 1,500 metres course, complete infrastructures, vast paddock and, should the summer be up to its reputation in the Abruzzi region, its pleasant weather conditions.

The majority of “U18” Drivers (13 out of 83) and chassis brands (12 out of 15) are Italian, so they will race on home ground and try to make the most of it before the following stages, scheduled for France and Bahrain.

Any advantage or big Championship lead after the first event will however have less impact than in 2010 because since the “U18” World Championship (as well as the Academy Trophy in fact) comprises three events only, the point allocation has been revised. Whereas in 2010 only the top 15 of the Final of each event scored Championship points, the 2011 point-scale has provisions for allocating some points to all the finalists, according to a degressive scale from 50 points for the winner to 7 points for the 34th classified Driver. There will also be points for the top 15 after the marathon constituted by the 15 qualifying heats! Finally, to give the B Final an interest that the former consolation final did not have, the top 6 of the “little” final will be awarded a few Championship points (from 6 points for the winner to 1 point for the 6th). The B Final to be held on the Sunday afternoon will concern Drivers classified between 35th and 68th further to the heats. The racing programme of the Sunday afternoon will thus be reinforced and Drivers will have more track time. So this is for everyone’s benefit, Competitors, Public and Organisers.

Info CIK