RMCGF 2024 - Daily Report #5

Qualifying Heat #1

With only two heat races for the E20 Senior drivers, Team Hungary’s Armand Hamilton and Thailand’s Siri Kongrisi lined up on the front row for the standing start in the nine-lap heat one. German Robert Schopian moved from fifth to third in two laps as Swiss driver Phillip Loacker ran fourth ahead of Team Spain’s Raul Vargas before contact between the two relegated Vargas down the running order. Junior Jonsson was up to eighth in four laps after a disqualification in qualifying saw him at the tail of the grid. Schopian took the lead on lap four, disposing of Hamilton, and a lap later, Loacker was by Hamilton as well. Schopian drove to the win ahead of Hamilton, Loacker, Kongrisi, and Maximo Castro from Uruguay. Post-race, Castro received a time penalty, pushing him down the running order and elevating Junior Jonsson from Team Sweden to the fifth position.

Qualifying Heat #2

Just as they did for heat one, Hamilton and Kongsiri would take the standing start from the front row and remain in those positions at the completion of lap one. Kongsiri was able to take the lead on lap two as Hamilton fell to fourth behind Schopian and Vargas. Schopian took the lead a lap later, with Kongsiri finding his way back to P2. The front five ran nose to tail as the last lap board was displayed but Schopian held off the advances of his rivals to take the win ahead of Hamilton, Kongsiri, Vargas and Amandine Travadon from France. Vargus was assesses a penalty following the race, relegating him down the order and moving Travadon to fourth and Castro to the fifth position.

Qualifying Heat #1

The #703 entry of Maurits Knopjes from the Netherlands and #705 of Team Argentina’s Emiliano Parisi lined up for the E20 Master standing start on the front row for heat one. Racing nine laps, Knopjes led early as Swedish driver Jonatan Morin moved to the second position ahead of Switzerland’s Gilberto Loacker. Chasing down Knopjes, Morin made a move late in the race to steal the E20 Master heat one victory. The ageless Team Belgium driver Christophe Adams found himself in the third position ahead of Loacker as the top-four were covered by only 1.2 seconds. Team Peru’s Jhonny Gushiken rounded out the top-five. After post-race penalties were assessed, Morin kept the win ahead of Knopjes, Adams, Gushiken, and Peter Gyutai.

Qualifying Heat #2

Maurits Knopjes led the E20 Master class early as he looked to score the heat race win after finishing second in heat one. Jonatan Morin was keeping Knopjes honest, running in the second position, just ahead of Parisi in third. Team Brazil’s Gabriel Rosa ran in the fourth position looking for a solid result with Gushiken in fifth. Knopjes went on to win heat two by just under five seconds ahead of Parisi, Morin, Rosa, and Gushiken.

Qualifying Heat #2

With one heat race yesterday, heat two was the only Micro MAX heat of the day, as all 36 drivers would transfer to race in the main event on Saturday. Brazilian Pedro Campos and Thailand’s Chinnaphat Vejabhuti started on the front row with Kyrgyzstan’s Ilia Mazo and Lithuania’s Emilis Juozaitis. Thailand’s Patthapol Kaewkarnjanasat led the opening lap moving from fifth to first on the opening circuit. By the end of lap two, Lithuania’s Jokubas Vaskelis had found his way to the lead after starting ninth. Lucien Smith from Great Britain was up 20 positions to fourth in just two laps ahead of fellow countrymen Luke Milward and Shuo-Ting Chang from Chinese Taipei. In a very racy Micro MAX heat race, positions in the front were changing lap after lap as Milward led Smith and Campos. Battling hard over the final circuit, Milward scored the win ahead of Chang, Vaskelis, Campos, and Austin Oman from the UK after Smith was hit with a post-race time penalty.

Qualifying Heat #2 – A + C

It was the first of four Mini MAX heat races on the day. Oliver Spencer from the UK brought the field to the green, with Czechia’s Zdenek Babicek joining him on the front row, but Majus Mazinas from Lithuania led the opening lap. Babicek snuck by Mazinas, with Han John in third ahead of Spencer and Estonia’s Nikita Ljubimov. At mid-race distance, the top-eight were separated by less than 1.8 seconds as it was still any driver’s race to win. With two laps to go, the top-three had opened a two-second gap on the fourth-place runner. Mazinas led when the last lap board came out, followed by Babicek and Ljubimov but when the checkered flag flew, it was Babicek taking the win ahead of Mazinas and Ljubimov who made contact coming to the flag. Nikolai Kariukin from Kyrgyzstan was classified in the fourth position after penalties were applied as Aaryan Singh was fifth.

Qualifying Heat #2 – B + D

It was the British contingent at the front for the start of Mini MAX heats B and D as four of the top-five positions were held by Great Britain competitors. Finlay Lines started from the pole position, but Albert Friend jumped to the lead from P3 as they exited turn one and led lap one, followed by Harry Taylor, who started fifth on the grid. The three Brits led through lap two with Friend, Taylor, and Lines ahead of Team Ireland’s Ben Mccloughry and Emerson Macandrew-Uren. Macandrew-Uren moved to second on lap three, looking to position himself for a shot at the win, but the action was not over yet. Friend had opened a large gap, but Macandrew-Uren closed that down to .367 at the start of the final circuit to make it a two-kart race. Friend took the win with Macandrew-Uren in second ahead of Mccloughry, Vic Van Campenhout, and Ramiro Carreira. After penalties were applied, Carreira was elevated to fourth ahead of Team USA’s Jaxon Porter in fifth.

Qualifying Heat #3 – A + D

The penultimate Mini MAX heat was completed with the drivers from groups A and D with Oliver Spencer and Patrikas Jocius leading Francisco Rocha and Emerson Macandrew-Uren into the opening corner. Contact on the opening lap saw some drivers lose momentum and ultimately positions, but up front Majus Mazinas jumped from fifth to first on the opening circuit. Spencer fell to third behind Patrikas as two Lithuanian drivers were up front, and South Africa’s Aaryan Singh was fourth. Spencer and Macandrew-Uren locked bumpers and pushed to the front, taking the top-two positions on lap four of seven as the top-six drivers ran bumper-to-bumper. Only four countries were represented the top-seven at the end of lap five as a pair of Argentinian drivers were in the mix with Martin Bertolaccini and Ramiro Carreira. Spencer continued to lead, with Bertolaccini in second before he was overtaken by Carreira. When the checkered flag flew it was Spencer who took the win ahead of Singh, Carreira, Nikolai Kariukin, and Jocius. However, Jocius was dropped from fifth to 17^th due to a five-second time penalty elevating Majus Mazinas to the fifth position.

Qualifying Heat #3 – B + C

Lines, Babicek, Friend, and John started from the front two rows in the final Mini MAX heat of the weekend as they looked to continue their presence up front. Friend led Lines on lap four as the pair had opened a small gap behind them, but an attack was mounting from Babicek and Harry Taylor, who were getting themselves organized. Ben Mccloughry had moved into the fifth position to continue his great RMC Grand Finals, but Babicek disposed of Lines and into second, making a bid for the win. Babicek was by Friend on the final circuit for the win as Friend finished second ahead of Taylor, Lines, and Mccloughry.

Qualifying Heat #2 – A + C

The Great Britain duo of Cameron Nelson and Jacob Ashcroft were set to lead the 36 Junior MAX drivers in Qualifying Heat Two. However, Ashcroft suffered a mechanical issue on the warm-up lap and retired before the race started. Nelson led early over Chinese Taipei Eason Tseng and Team USA’s Gage Korn in the seven-lap heat. Korn was fast and chased down Nelson as drivers in the top-ten were battling hard. Dutch drivers Ties Van Wijk and Max Sadurski were by Tseng at mid-race distance as Nelson and Korn worked together to draw away from the field. Nelson held Korn at bay to take the win ahead of Van Wijk, Tseng, and Rayane Bourguignon from France. Following the race, Tseng was given a five-second time penalty for a jump start, escalating Casper Nissen and Boaz Maximov to fourth and fifth on the results sheets.

Qualifying Heat #2 – B + D

It was Team France and Team USA on the front row of Junior MAX B + D with Alois Giradet and Davin Roberts. Austria’s Ivonn Simeonova and Australian Hamish Campbell occupied row two with Campbell getting by Simeonova on the opening lap. Team New Zealand’s Marco Manson made a brilliant set of moves on lap two to move from fifth to second on route to setting the fastest lap of the race so far on lap three. It was a three-kart breakaway up front at the halfway mark as Manson moved by Giradet for the lead. Campbell went from third to first to take the lead at the start of lap five, slowing the trio and bringing the fourth-place driver, Denmark’s Mathias Kjellerup back into contention. Campbell went on to win ahead of Kjellerup, Manson, Giradet and Roberts. Following the heat, winner Campbell was disqualified for a rear bumper infraction, handing the win to Kjellerup with Manson, Girardet, Roberts, and Jules Avril.

Qualifying Heat #3 – A + D

The third and final Junior MAX heat race for groups A and D hit the track for a seven-lap battle with Nelson and Roberts on the front row ahead of Maximov and Campbell in row two. With a DQ on his record, Campbell would look to fight for the win to regain a huge loss from his heat two result. Maximov led the opening lap ahead of Campbell and Roberts, and Kjellerup was up to fourth, with Nelson falling to P5 on the opening lap. At the start of lap four, only 1.9 seconds separated the top-13 drivers as the battle was on for every position. At the end of lap five, Maximov led Nelson, Casper Nissen, Roberts, and Kjellerup. With the top-six running bumper-to-bumper, it was still anyone’s race. In a huge battle over the last two laps, it was Nissen who led Maximov, Nelson, Team USA’s Gage Korn and Kjellerup. After penalties were applied, Korn was dropped to 15^th in the final standings with Kjellerup fourth and Team USA’s Davin Roberts in the fifth position.

Qualifying Heat #3 – B + C

Alois Giradet was able to jump to the lead from his pole position as a spin in the middle of the pack took a few karts out in turn one on lap one. Jacob Ashcroft, who failed to take the green flag in heat two, closed lap one in the second position ahead of female competitor Ivonn Simeonova. Ashcroft jumped to the lead on lap two and had a half-second lead at the end of lap three. Fellow British driver Scott Marsh was up nine positions as he marched forward. Kai Clarke from the UK was also up nine positions to fourth after just four laps as the battle was about to heat up at the front. Marsh and Ashcroft had opened a more than one-second gap on Simeonova in third to make it a two-kart race and when the checkered flag flew it was Marsh followed by Ashcroft and Ivonn Simeonova.

Qualifying Heat #2 – A + C

The Team Great Britain duo of Lewis Gilbert and Callum Bradshaw led the Senior MAX A + C drivers to the green in the second heat of the weekend as Mika Van De Pavert and Brit Harry Bartle occupied row two. Gilbert led early with Bradshaw in tow and Van De Pavert in third ahead of Paul Kristian Hamburg from Estonia. The top three started to break away, but Bradshaw went for the lead on lap four to try to manage the race as Vic Stevens and Harry Bartle pushed by Van De Pavert. With three laps to go it was a British 1-2-3 as Bradshaw, Gilbert, and Bartle were at the head of the train before Stevens snuck by on lap seven to move himself to third. Bradshaw took the win ahead of Gilbert, Bartle, Stevens, and Van De Pavert.

Qualifying Heat #2 – B + D

Taking the green from row one would be Team Great Britain drivers Macauley Bishop and Matthew Higgins ahead of British driver Kai Hunter in third and Team Italy’s Elia Pappacena. Bishop led early from Hunter and Higgins as Tommie Van Der Struijs from the Netherlands had moved to fourth. Hunter went by Bishop for the lead on lap three, bringing Higgins with him to P2. Team USA’s driver, Oliver Hodgson, was in the top-five, making big moves on lap four to move into the third position. With 20 karts running bumper-to-bumper, Bishop was back to the lead with Hodgson up eight positions into second. Hodgson was defending hard, allowing Bishop to open a one-second gap at the start of the final lap. Bishop easily drove to the win over Hodgson, Higgins, Pappacena, and Hunter. After a bumper penalty to Bishop, Hodgson inherited the win ahead of Higgins, Pappacena, Hunter, and Max Walton.

Qualifying Heat #3 – A + D

Gilbert and Higgins were clean and green on the first time as they led the field into the first corner in the final Senior MAX heat from drivers in groups A and D. Higgins led early from Gilbert and Pappacena. Tommie Van Der Struijs slotted into the fourth position ahead of Mika Van De Pavert as it was a train of SodiKarts through the field. Oliver Hodgson was driven over on lap two, knocking his exhaust off as he began to lose time to the leaders before being forced to retire. It was a calm first few laps, but the action heated on lap five, with Higgins taking the lead from Gilbert, Hamburg, and Team France’s Mehdi Lassoued. The lead group was down to five drivers on the final lap, and Gilbert scored the heat race win ahead of Lassoued, Pappacena, Higgins, and Thailand’s Austin Gale. Following the race, Lassoued was given a penalty, promoting the three behind and Paul Kristian Hamburg into fifth.

Qualifying Heat #3 – B + C

The final Senior MAX heat of the weekend hit the track with drivers looking to maintain their starting positions to set up a good starting spot for the prefinals. For others, the need for positions was a desperate one, as they needed every possible point to better their chances. It was an all-Great Britain top five to start with Bishop, Bradshaw, Hunter, Bartle, and Butcher occupying those positions. Hannes Ueberfeldt briefly broke up the British quintet on lap two, but they were back together on lap three, occupying the top-five positions with ease early on. The top-ten were starting to get a little racy on lap five as the they were separated by just 1.8 seconds. With three laps to go, 13 drivers were now bumper-to-bumper as the leaders began to defend. Elbows were out as Bishop was defending as hard as he could to maintain the lead and did a superb job to score the win for the UK. Bradshaw was second, with Bartle, Butcher, and Hunter securing the top-five positions, an all-British top-five.

Qualifying Heat #2 – A + C

It was the first MAX DD2 heat of the day as Enzo Bol and Antoine Barbaroux hoped to finish close to where they started as they led the field into the first corner. Bol had a good start to hold the lead, but Team Poland’s Dawid Maslakiewicz and Team Brazil’s Leonardo Reis had better starts, moving from rows two and three to the second and third positions on track. Latvia’s Emils Akmens was into the fourth position ahead of Barbaroux on lap three as Maslakiewicz went purple, setting the fastest lap this far. Lap seven saw Bol continue to extend his lead over Maslakiewicz and Reis, with Edgars Vilcans from Latvia and German Nikita Gense now rounding out the top-five. Bol drove to an easy win, followed by Maslakiewicz and Reis. Vilcans and Gense rounded out the top-five. Emils Akmens was elevated to the fifth position following penalties as Gense dropped to 18th.

Qualifying Heat #2 – B + D

Slovenia’s Xen De Ruwe and Sem Knopjes from the Netherlands started the MAX DD2 B and D heat from the front row as De Ruwe was looking to repeat his performance from the day prior. Leading the opening lap with Knopjes, Finland’s Axel Saarniala, and Kyrgyzstan’s Konstantin Krapin ahead of Britain Will Elswood was up three positions into fifth. With two laps to go, the battle was on for the win with De Ruwe and Knopjes beginning to push one another to the limit. De Ruwe was able to open the gap a little as the lap wore on, and Knopjes was forced to defend from Krapin behind him. De Ruwe took the win ahead of Knopjes, Krapin, Elswood, and Saarniala.

Qualifying Heat #3 – A + D

Enzo Bol drove to the win in heat two and would look to do the same in heat three as he led the field to green next to Sem Knopjes in an all-Dutch front row. The front two ran nose to tail over the opening three laps with positions changing behind them. Krapin ran third ahead of Paul Fourquemin in fourth as Dawid Maslakiewicz was dropped to the fifth position. Maslakiewicz was by Fourquemin on lap seven to take over the fourth position but positions up front were unchanged. Bol scored the win as Maslakiewicz was a benefactor of some hard racing between Krapin and Knopjes who dropped to fourth and fifth behind Fourquemin.

Qualifying Heat #3 – B + C

What could be a preview in the main event battle, Xen De Ruwe and Antonie Barbaroux started on the front row of the final MAX DD2 heat of the weekend as De Ruwe led early. Axel Saarniala was able to get by Barbaroux for second, but De Ruwe was out in front by a second already. Edgars Vilcans was also by Barbaroux on lap two, as was Emils Akmens on lap three. Du Ruwe maintained his one-second gap up front, but that had dipped to just six tenths of a second on lap five as Saarniala was showing great pace. That same lap, Barbaroux was back by Akmens for the fourth position that same lap, but a lap later, Akmens returned the favor. With two heat wins to his credit, Du Ruwe did not put up a fight when Saarniala went for the lead on the last lap and settled for second at the checkered flag. Vilcans finished third, Akmens fourth, and Barbaroux in fifth. Unfortuantley, Barbaroux was given a five second time penalty, dropping him to tenth and giving Italian Daniel Giliberti the fifth position.

Qualifying Heat #2

It was the only MAX DD2 Master heat race of the day as Scott Howard and Joao Cunha led Nicolas Picot, Rodrigo Eckholt, and the rest of the field to turn one. Howard led the first lap as the top six drivers remained static over the opening lap of the nine-lap heat race, but a lap later, Team France’s Picot was to the point ahead of Team Brazil’s Cunha and Howard. A lap later, Hamilton was down to fifth, with Eckholt and Matthew Hamilton by for third and fourth. Dmitrii Kofanov was the next one to get by Howard as Team USA’s John Bonanno followed through. Picot had opened a half-second gap over the P2 driver of Cunha just before Howard had contact with a fellow driver to fall to the tail of the field. Picot handily drove away to win with Cunha in second. Team Chili’s Eckholt finished third ahead of Hamilton and Kofanov.

On To Tomorrow

With the grids now set, drivers will look to make their way through the prefinals to make it to the main events on Saturday. With the goal to win for some, others will be looking to just finish in the top-17 to have their chance to live and fight another day.