WSK: Goal Reached for Esteban

To be in the battle for the WSK Euro Series title was one of the goals that the French driver Esteban Ocon had set for himself this season. With three podiums, including a victory, in four meetings, the karter supported by Gravity Management can be definitely satisfied with the results he achieved in this important international series. He put the leader under heavy pressure and finally conquered the title of vice Champion KF3 at the last round, held in Spain.

Exactly one week after the European KF3 Championship, which he concluded with a 9th place despite the many obstacles he found on his way, Esteban Ocon raced again on the Spanish circuit of Zuera for the final round of the WSK Euro Series. Third in the provisional classification of the Championship before this decisive race, he was determined to play his cards right until the end, knowing that he still had a mathematical chance to conquer the crown. Although the timed qualifying session, ended in 15h place, fell short of the French driver’s expectations, he seemed to be very inspired in the qualifying heats, with three 2nd places, a 10th place and, at the end of the day, a return to 5th place on the pre-final grid.
“I was pretty confident because we had found a good set-up with the Genikart team during the weekend“, the driver from Equipe de France admitted. “Unfortunately, during the pre-final, the carburettor needle valve was prone to jam and I was forced to battle on every lap not to lose too many places. I managed to limit the damage by finishing 7th“.

In that moment Esteban knew that the title was gone, but he could still conquer the second place in the WSK. Famous for his excellent starts, Esteban carved his way through to the pack on the first bends of the final, to reach 5th after a lap. “I kept pushing until I reached the third place in the wake of the second driver, but I would have needed a few more laps to launch an attack“.
In this meeting, which gathered all the best junior drivers of the moment, with over 100 entrants for the whole WSK Euro Series, Esteban Ocon was rightly satisfied with reaching second place in final classification. Gwenaël Lagrue from Gravity Sport Management confirms this analysis: “Esteban lost some points at the Portuguese round of Portimao despite taking pole position, but that coincided with his change of team, which is never simple to manage. Afterwards he had a very good approach to races and demonstrated greater maturity. All things considered, I think that concluding with a second place is an excellent result in this very hard fought WSK, behind a driver of the calibre of Max Verstappen, who has driven a lot since the start of the season“.

Now Esteban Ocon expects high performances from his FA Kart-Vortex, in order to show his full potential at next World Cup for KF3 in Italy. Meanwhile, he will try to put in some brilliant performances at the French round of the CIK/FIA Academy Trophy, where he occupies an interesting 4th place.