In the thick of the action

The Kosmic team has been making its presence felt in both the French and Italian championships. With the European Championships fast approaching, the Kosmic/Vortex tandem continues to perform to the satisfaction of team mechanics and drivers alike.

In April, the Kosmic team, under the leadership of Olivier Maréchal, took part in two very different events. Situated in the heart of France, the Varennes sur Allier track is known for its long straights, short braking distances and long open bends, whereas the Lonato circuit in Italy is atypical, with tight bends that increase the presence of rubber on the track, which has a considerable effect on grip. According to Olivier Maréchal, the brand new Kosmic T11 chassis fitted with Vortex engines performed well on both tracks.

“Benjamin Bailly at Varennes and James Calado at Lonato both narrowly missed out on a podium place during the finishing laps in their finals, but the kart performed well in both cases. I am pleased to see that drivers feel at home as soon as they get into a Kosmic. For his second foray outside his home territory, Ronnie Latinne showed us just what he’s capable of, finishing 2nd in the French ICA championship race. And Mickaël Albert, whose experience in the category is very limited, turned in top 10 finishes in all of his three heats”.

Everyone was expecting to see Bailly amongst the leaders during the Easter weekend meeting but Latinne got away to a great start from 5th place on the grid and managed to hold off quite a few French championship hopefuls, crossing the line in 2nd position in Heat 1. Victim of a shunt in Heat 2, he left it to his team-mate to shine in this race. “Abbasse clipped Arrue at the start of the final round and since I was right behind him on the 2nd line of the grid there was no way I couldn’t avoid them”, explained Benjamin Bailly. “But in the final I gave it everything I had to climb back up the field”. He clocked the fastest lap of the race and climbed no less that 21 places to finish 4th, a performance that keeps him in 3rd place in the championship standings.
Younger brother Sébastien was racing in the Junior class and turned in a much sharper performance than he did in Angerville. This time he finished 6th, 9th and 4th in the qualifying heats, with a lap record to boot! Unfortunately, in the finals Sébastien Bailly was involved in a shunt in which he sustained an elbow injury. As for Darren Bressaglia, he managed a fine climb through the field from 26th to 12th place during Heat 1in Formula A, “without fitting my new tyres”, pointed out the lad from Luxembourg, who finished in the top 10 in the final.

The following week at the Italian Open Masters meeting, Kosmic joined up with its two leading Formula A drivers, James Calado from Britain and Jérémy Iglesias from France. Despite a promising 6th fastest time, Jérémy’s weekend was spoilt by a couple of shunts which damaged his chassis to such an extent that he had to retire. By contrast, team-mate James put in a brilliant performance, ending up in 3rd position in the provisional championship table. Not bad for his first season in Formula A! “James got caught by surprise in the last lap, when Cesetti managed to get past him just as he was about to overtake Catt for 2nd place”, commented the team manager. “He is still a bit green in the pack, and in Heat 2 he dropped down to 7th, but I’m pleased to see that we were still lapping with the best. The weather was very sunny in Lonato and there was a lot of rubber on the track but the chassis held up well under the conditions”.

Unaccustomed to racing with so much grip, the Bailly brothers got better on every outing, making the most of the advice proffered by Olivier Maréchal and his team, and of the work done on the kart. In ICA, Benjamin Bailly came in 3rd in his final heat. Victim of a shunt in Race 1, he moved up the field from 30th place to 15th in the second heat, lapping at the same speed as the leaders. He now lies 6th in the championship. As for Sébastien, he was pleased to have qualified for the finals in the Junior class, after climbing 22 places in the heats. In Italy Kosmos also looked after Steven Wilson in ICA. Steven’s brother is Justin, who drove in Formula 1 for Minardi in 2003 and who is now doing great things in Champ Car racing in the USA. “Driving on rubber when you’re over 6 feet tall is not easy for your first outing in the Open Masters,” said Olivier Maréchal. “Despite that, he did what he wanted and managed to book a place in the finals”… as indeed did all of the Kosmic drivers racing in Varennes and Lonato!