Final Whirlwind of Events at Varennes for 2008 French Karting Championship

The 2008 season of Grands Prix Karting FFSA is about to end with an exceptional event – on 31st of May and 1st of June – on the Jean Brun circuit at Varennes sur Allier. After three rounds and six races per category, the French Championship ranking is still uncertain, with many pilots who could still win. In September, Varennes will host next KZ1 World Cup, the last round of the European KZ2 Championship and the European KF3 final. This important date of the international season will attract to Grand Prix FFSA well-known pilots, who will boost both the participation and the level of our national Championship.

Varennes will witness the return to France of major Italian official teams, which are getting ready for KZ1 World Cup. Tony Kart’s pilots Matias Laine, David Gaggianesi, Andrea Benedetti and World Champion Marco Ardigo will race in the 125 gearbox category. CRG is equally well represented with Alessandro Manetti, Jonathan Thonon, winner of 2007 World Cup and Arnaud Kozlinski. Armand Convers will come back to France with PCR Team, while Florian Alfano will defend the colours of Gillard with PDB Team. Yannick Savard appears to have solid arguments. To put it shortly, the level of KZ2 Grand Prix will be simply amazing. The presence of these important pilots will make life more difficult for the French group of pilots fighting for the 2008 KZ2 title, but will also be a unique opportunity for them to show what they are capable of. Given this situation, the 29 points of lead conquered by Thomas Mich over his direct pursuer are definitely a remarkable advantage. Anthony Abbasse and Emilien Grosso, ex-aequo 3rd with 43 points can still hope to conquer the throne, although it is going to be more difficult for them. During the race, an eye should also be kept on Alban Varutti, winner in Normandy, Norman Nato, Mike Courquin, Joffrey Demanse, Christophe Benoit, very fast at Essay, and on Swiss Ken Allemann.

In KF2, Charles Lacaze is well settled at the top of the Championship ranking with 228 points. But his challenger, Belgian Robin Frijns, is only 40 points behind and therefore he can still fight for the title. From a mathematical point of view, Loïc Réguillon and Kenny Vermeylen could still win the title, but the good shape of outgoing Champion Charles Lacaze is a major asset for this pilot from Equipe de France. The best pilots in the category also have a chance to obtain good results: Clément Bluy, Sébastien Bailly, William Benedetti, Julien Deschamps, Guillaume Barbarin … The previous round has seen the blossoming of new talents, who will try to confirm their worth at Varennes. This is especially true for Paul Loup Chatin. We could also witness a return to competition for Giacomo Napolitano and Elie Bluy, Clément’s brother. British Luke Wright has added this Grand Prix to his international schedule.

The KF3 category has shown a renewed interest for Varennes, especially because the final of the European Championship will be held on this same circuit in September. The long-awaited duel between Guillaume De Ridder and Brandon Maïsano will become even more intense thanks to the presence of foreign pilots like Nyck De Vries (Holland), Matteo Beretta and Vittorio Ghirelli (Italy), Danil Kyvat (Russia) and Russel Danzey (Great Britain). Let’s not forget a few pilots capable of good performances on the Auvergne track: Jonathan Hélias, Michael Heche and Mathieu Jaminet.

Finally, the last Grand Prix Karting FFSA of the season will host another event, i.e. a round of KZ 125 – a national category very popular in France – for the Villemouze Trophy to be held in addition to regular races.

The Grand Prix Karting FFSA at Varennes is certainly the national not-to-miss event!