The Hugo Valente Story, Episode III

The third round of the 2006 French Championships has just finished out on the fast, sinewy circuit at Lavelanet, half way between Toulouse and the Pyrenean Mountains. Some tasty racing was on the menu, particularly in the Juniors. And the sweltering summer sun ensured that the weekend was hot and spicy.

We join Hugo for his 2nd race in France with his new team. Much has been accomplished since their last outing in Varennes. Hugo’s driving position in the chassis has been lowered and moved closer to the centre. That’s better! 6th fastest in the time trials just two tenths of a second off the leaders, things are looking good for the weekend.
Hugo proves his worth in the 1st qualifying heat, coming home in 3rd place, only 5 hundredths of a second behind the leader. Yes! The weather gets even hotter for the second heat late on Saturday. But not as hot as the head under our driver’s helmet… After a poor start, he’s soon on the attack. Ouch! A shunt on the second bend and he’s back in last place! Hugo then tries to force his way back into the race but gets a bit carried away as he shunts one straggler and then piggy backs another in his haste to get by, attracting the attention of the race marshals in the process. He finds out how important it is to know how to defend oneself in front of the race officials. The decision falls like a ton of bricks – disqualified! After some wise words of advice from cool parents and a good night’s sleep to get it out of his system, Hugo starts the day’s racing on Sunday with the bit firmly between his teeth. The result? A well-earned 3rd place in the final qualifying heat.

So here we are, for the pre-final Hugo starts from the 5th line of grid. To make life more difficult he finds himself sandwiched between a kart that’s sideways across his path and another one behind pushing him for all it’s worth. By the time the mess is sorted out he finishes Lap 1 back down in 25th place! Never mind, he keeps his cool and starts to carve his way back up the field. Coming home 11th means that his chances remain intact for the final.

A good, clean final race. Confident in the qualities of his steed, Hugo overtakes regularly throughout the 18 laps of the race. With the finishing line in sight he’s lying 4th but just can’t hold off young Belgian driver Sébastien Bailly for whom nothing can go wrong. After such a tempestuous weekend, ending up in 5th place was a fine achievement.

At the end of the day, Hugo Valente picked up some very valuable lessons at the FFSA Grand prix meeting in Lavelanet. He now knows how to deal with the downside of racing and all that goes with it, and his legendary turn of speed remains intact!
The team is constantly at work to improve his kart, which is now in top shape.
Here is what Hugo’s mechanic Benji has to say:
“Teamwork is everything here at Jana Racing. Nico Moni and I work in perfect harmony on Arthur Pic’s chasis and Hugo’s. We’ve made a host of minor mods and developed a new front suspension assembly. Our two drivers get on like a house on fire and they both give us great feedback. It’s much better having two drivers than just the one. ”

In short:
In parallel with racing in the French Championships, Hugo continues his international apprenticeship and is preparing in particular to race in the European Junior Championships. He competes in the Italian Open masters – which this season has the strongest field in Europe – and in the international WSK series that is split between Italy and Belgium. This is where his best results have come from, with a spectacular 10-place climb in the final race during the Mariembourg event in Belgium, with lap times not far off the leaders’.

Next meeting: The European qualifiers at Braga in Portugal. The meeting will take pace in July so another Hot Summer event is in store, no doubt with the usual crop of surprises!