One podium after the other

Belgian Sébastien Bailly just keeps getting better in KF3. After wins in the French championships, the Junior class driver strung together two great performances in the space of eight days.

He passed his entry exam to the European scene on the Genk circuit in Belgium, with a promising 5th place that qualifies him for the finals of the European Championships. Then the following week he won his first podium place in the ultra-competitive Italian Open Masters series. Racing in the top KF1 class, brother Benjamin also had positives to take from his Italian campaign. Supported by everyone at Kosmic-Vortex and with the whole Bailly family behind him, Sébastien continues to make remarkable progress. He is only 14 years old, but the lad from Liège is now one of the KF3 category’s class acts. “We did a lot of training together last winter”, said brother Benjamin. “I could see he was really keen to get himself in top shape for a good season’s racing”. The highly-motivated youngster has already achieved quite a few of the objectives he set himself, for example qualifying for the European KF3 finals which are scheduled to take place in Sarno, Italy (not far from Naples) next September 1-2. “Because there are so many drivers entered for Europe in the KF3 class, the International Federation has to organise qualifying rounds”, added Sébastien. “Belgium falls into the northern zone, along with the Scandinavian countries and Holland, among others. Since the race was taking place in my own country I really wanted to do well and get a result. But on the other hand I knew it was best not to take too many chances; the main thing was to qualify”. Lying 7th after the qualifying heats, Sébastien was intelligent enough to race prudently. Avoiding overtaking just for the sake of it, he worked his way steadily up the standings, getting the best out of his perfectly set up Kosmic-Vortex. “There was a lot of pressure. Since both final races count for the overall standings you had to make sure you didn’t go out of one of them. I knew I just had to stay calm and concentrate on my main objective”. Sébastien came 8th in the first final race and 4th in the second one, just a few lengths behind the leaders, after clocking up some excellent lap times. “Finishing 5th overall, Sébastien did more than we could have expected of him”, was team manager Olivier Maréchal’s verdict.

One week later, during the July 21-22 Italian Open Masters meeting, Sébastien Bailly turned in his best performance to date in the series. “Sébastien has found a cutting edge now, and he’s grown in self-assurance. That’s a great asset in overtaking situations”, commented a member of his entourage. Sébastien was also excellent out of the starting blocks all weekend. Lying 8th after the qualifying heats, straight away he climbed several places in Race 1. He was in the top three at one point, before a brush with another kart pushed him back to 5th place. “This performance told me that a place on the podium was possible, so I was feeling confident in Race 2”. The battle to be Champion of Italy is hotly contested, but Sébastian managed to get amongst the contenders with a peerless drive on the highly-selective Val Vibrata circuit, finally crossing the line in 3rd position. “While I was standing on the podium I was thinking of all the people who have shown so much belief in me: my partners, the team, and all my family. My objective now is to carry on like this.” On the schedule: the finals of both the French and European championships. So it looks as though more good results are in the offing for Sébastien over the coming weeks.

Benjamin did his best

After finishing eighth in what is the most keenly contested national championship on the European continent, Benjamin Bailly was upbeat about his first season’s racing in the Italian Open Masters series. “I don’t think that at the start of the season many people thought I would be as competitive as I was. I managed to get two podium places, including one outright win, so that’s very positive. Over the past few races the drivers racing on Dunlops have been suffering compared to those with Vegas. So unfortunately I wasn’t able to hold on to the spot I was occupying in the standings half way through the season”. But by coming 8th overall, Benjamin was the top placed Kosmic driver, top Dunlop driver and one of the top rookies in the class. Perhaps the biggest positive of all is the invaluable experience he has picked up by racing on these difficult Italian tracks. That will stand him in very good stead as he prepares to race in the final of the European and World championships in Mariembourg. And there he will be on home territory !