Academy Trophy: report on the qualifying heats in Bahrain

Alexander Maslennikov, the polesitter in the first qualifying heat for the Academy Trophy, which pitted groups A and C, led all the way and resisted the urgent threat of George Russell and won the race with the fastest lap. 3” behind the leaders, Erwan Julé took fourth, then third ahead of Alex Gill, then Arjun Maini 5th, Benjamin Lessennes 6th.

There was undivided domination from the Norwegian Martin Ellegard in heat B against D, followed by the Portuguese driver Bruno Oliveira and the Spanish Javier Cobian. Joonas Lappalainen seized the second palce on the penultimate lap but could do nothing against the return of the United Arab Emirates driver Thomas Bale. In fourth for a time, the French driver Paolo Besancenez lost time in the fight and was ranked seventh.

In the A against D heat, we saw Alexander Maslennikov alone in the lead, both the winner and the fastest driver on the track ahead of Joonas Lappalainen, who finished second by 1.3”. The French driver Erwan Julé moved up to 3rd place ahead of Alex Gill, Mattia Drudi in fourth after running well from eighth on the grid. Javier Cobian retired on lap three. Malsennikov was given a 10” penalty because of an overly fast start.

George Russell won the heat for BC, but Martin Ellegard had the best start and then recovered by retaking the lead from Russell, followed by Martijn Van Leeuwen and Paolo Besancenez. Russell again lost ground while Arnau Cervera and Bruno Oliveira moved up too. Ellegard kept second position on the line from Van Leeuwen, Cervera was 4th, Oliveira was 5th, Amaury Bonduel 6th. Adeline Prudent finished 9th behind Lina Von Schvedin, Besancenez fell to 12th position due to a slow puncture.

This time, George Russell completed the entire CD heat alone in the lead, regularly increasing his lead to more than 3” at the checkered flag. Theodoros Zaharelis held second place for most of the race, but the rise of Joonas Lappalainen, the fastest, was irresistible. The Finn took second place on the last lap and held it until the end. The American Tazio Torregiani was fourth, one of his best results ahead of Javier Cobian and Felix Hirsiger.

There was a third consecutive victory for the Russian Alexander Maslennikov in the final qualifying heat of the Academy Trophy 2012 in Bahrain, where he was unquestionably the winner in the race between groups A and B. The French driver Erwan Julé rapidly took second position after passing the British Alex Gill at the beginning of the second lap. Martin Ellegard was removed from the struggle for victory on the first lap in 14th position. The battle was more severe for 3rd place, first occupied by Gill, then Paolo Besancenez from France and finally Martijn Van Leeuwen to the finish. Besancenez was 4th from Thomas Bale, the United Arab Emirates driver who was on a big rise, who set both the fastest time in 5th place with Gill next.

Info Kartcom with Kartlink / © Photo KSP