4th Exciting Act at Ostricourt

This time the GPOs went north for their tour of the French circuits. The fourth round of the French Karting Championship 2009 was held on the circuit of Ostricourt, this weekend. Though usually the number of entrants is slightly lower at the end of season, this phenomenon has been neglectable so far and the GPOs continue to attract both fans and professionals. In addition to that, the organisation runs smoothly and remains a reference point for karting.

From a sportsmanship standpoint, the Ostricourt event did not spare surprises, including the arrival of a bunch of young drivers from the Cadet category, who came to prepare for next season’s battle in KF3. There were a few revelations, some comebacks, while the favourites consolidated, overall, their standings in the Championship. If we add to that the excellent qualify of the organisation by ASK Métropole and its team, the overall assessment of this GPO is once again largely positive.

The arrival of new karters is always an important event for a championship, but when it is also accompanied by the emergence of new talents, it is an extraordinary experience. Anthoine Hubert, vice French Champion in the Cadet category, seized his opportunity when it came to him. Amazingly fast in his first race in KF3 on a Tony Kart/Vortex kart, he even conquered Saturday’s final ahead of a group of strong rivals.
Victor Sendin (Birel/TM) profited of the summer break to take a step forward and found himself duelling with his rivals to take the lead. Finally, Pierre Gasly (Sodi/Parilla) was unstoppable on Sunday and won timed qualifying, the pre-final and the final. Hats off!
Alex Baron remains leader of the Championship, followed by Pierre Gasly and Pascal Belmaaziz.

Regular attenders of KF2 events did not expect to see a dominant performance by Vincent Fraïsse and then by Glenn Keyaert on Sunday. Bailly, Réguillon, De Ridder, Chatin and so on were definitely forced to take these new parameters into account. Fraïsse (Intrepid/TM) appeared transformed and made sparks fly with his now rock-solid morale: he won super pole, pre-finale and final. The following day, it was a young karter’s turn to take the relay: Glenn Keyaert (CRG/Maxter). After finally getting rid of his legendary bad luck, the Belgian driver gave it all to win the two Sunday’s races. Sébastien Bailly maintained the championship leadership, followed by Réguillon and De Ridder.

Things went differently in KZ2 and leaders all got their dose of troubles. Small, but persistent mechanical problems for Norman Nato (Intrepid/TM), a broken engine for Anthony Abbasse when he was ahead in the final, a significant water leak for Thomas Mich (Birel/TM) in the same circumstances. Pierre Ragues (Sodi/TM) a versatile driver who is now a professional racing car driver and an amateur karter, took victory when he saw the chance to. But Nato remains the man to beat in the Championship, followed by Abbasse and Mich.

Ostricourt showed that something always happens in the GPOs and at next (and last) round in Lyon – Saint Laurent de Mure, on 23, 24 and 25 October 2009 there’s no risk that things will get boring: the championship is definitely still open.

All results and standings are available on www.gpokarting.com