Le Mans Karting International ready for the finals of the 2015 World Championship

The situation is starting to become clear in the quest for the three Karting world titles to be awarded on Sunday afternoon at Le Mans. Saturday was busy with a rich programme of 21 races in the three categories competing. The vagaries of the weather did not make the task easy for the 175 competitors from over 40 countries. The leaders at the moment are Paolo De Conto in KZ, Pedro Hiltbrand in KZ2 and Artem Slutskiy in Academy.

The competition proved tough for the drivers and exciting for the spectators who had already arrived in numbers on Saturday, September 12th. Among the personalities present, the Red Bull F1 driver Daniel Ricciardo monopolized the spotlight with his legendary smile. There were threatening skies in the morning, followed by wet periods and the return of the sun in the early afternoon with a track gradually regaining its full grip, so changing conditions strained the nerves of drivers and mechanics. Between the choice of tyres; slicks or wet, the right pressures and the most anticipated adjustments, the risk of errors were numerous for the technicians, while the competitors had to demonstrate a subtle mixture of foresight and boldness.

In karting, the qualifying heats award points in ascending order, with the winner collecting a zero, the 2nd two points, the 3rd three points, etc… The rankings reward consistent drivers with the lowest score. The positions therefore determine the order of the grids for the prefinals which will take place on Sunday morning from 11:15.

Paolo De Conto remains the leader in KZ

Out of the three heats for the KZ World Championship, each driver raced in two. The Italian Marco Ardigo (Tony Kart / Vortex), the reigning World Champion, had completed the best performance before a heavy penalty for an illegal start relegated him to 17th overall. His compatriot Paolo De Conto (CRG / Maxter) recovered 1st place ahead of the Swede Douglas Lundberg (Kosmic / Vortex) and the Italian Flavio Camponeschi (Tony Kart / Vortex). The French have had their share of trouble and in the end Arnaud Kozlinski (Sodi / TM) was the most successful with an interesting 6th position, while Jérémy Iglesias (Sodi / TM) finished 12th and Anthony Abbasse (Sodi / TM ) 15th, following retirements with mechanical problems.

Pedro Hiltbrand takes control in KZ2

The 96 contenders for the KZ2 International Super Cup had five heats to complete before the end of the day. The poleman from qualifying, Nicolas Gonzales (Sodi / TM), has not experienced all of the expected success, dropping to 13th place while the Spaniard Pedro Hiltbrand (CRG / Maxter) went ahead with his four victories. But another French driver, Thomas Laurent (Tony Kart / Vortex) took over as a three-time winner, so he is in 2nd place in the competition. Spanish and French drivers also share the 3rd and 4th positions, Jorge Pescador (Praga / Parilla) ahead of Pierre Loubère (Sodi / TM). A total of 13 French drivers will start the two prefinals on Sunday morning. At this stage, only the top 17 in each prefinal will qualify for the decisive final.

Artem Slutskiy succeeds faultlessly in the Academy

Ranked 11th in timed qualifying for the Academy Trophy, the Russian Artem Slutskiy proved himself by winning his two qualifying heats, ensuring he will start on pole for the prefinal on Sunday morning. The battle was fierce, and the Spaniard Marta Garcia won a race, but her 10th place in another relegates her to 4th position. The Spaniard Xavier Lloveras Brunet has recovered well, taking 2nd place in front of the Briton Alfie Brown, while the Frenchman Enzo Coursimault brilliantly moved up to 5th position. The Belgian Ugo De Wilde, the fastest on Friday and the French driver Theo Nouet did not have an easy day in 12th and 15th respectively. The drivers classified behind 28th place will have the opportunity to recover in a further race, the dreaded repechage which qualifies only the top six.

Sunday September 13th Programme:

9:35: Academy repechage

10:15: Driver’s presentation

10:55: Demonstration of historic karts

11:15: KZ2 prefinal 1

11:40: KZ2 prefinal 2

12:05: Academy prefinal

12:30 KZ prefinal

1:20: Demonstration of historic karts

1:40: International Super Cup KZ2 final

2:30: Academy Trophy final

3:15: World Championship KZ final

Info ACO / © Photo KSP