Fourth event of the German Kart Championship
For the fourth event of the German Kart Championship the drivers travelled to the etropolis Motorsport Arena Oschersleben. The conditions couldn’t have been harder in the Madgeburder Boerde. Due to heavy rain the lists of rankings were mixed up and keep being exciting right before the season finale.
After the southernmost station of the year in Ampfing everyone now travelled to the northernmost track in Oschersleben. The 1.108m long track is known for its full throttle passages and belongs to the high speed tracks on the racing calendar. This time, the wind shadow duels were the smallest challenges for the drivers and teams though. Heavy rain and wind made for difficult conditions – in the end all races started just as planned though. The team Automobile Club Traffic e.V. (ACV) provided a smooth course of events.
Everything remains possible in the championship rankings. The lead changed in the DKM and DSKM once again: Alexander Schmitz (DSKM), Bent Viscaal (DJKM) and Richard Verschoor (DKM) are going to travel to the finale in Kerpen as the leading drivers. DKM series coordinator Stefan Wagner is happy about the explosiveness in the championships and is looking forward to a thrilling finale: “The conditions have temporarily been really adverse this weekend and demanded high concentration. A lot of deep puddles were on the track, which made choosing the right path rather difficult. In the end we saw accident-free and very disciplined races though. A big thank you to everyone involved for their commitment throughout these three days. It’s nice that everything is still possible on the lists of rankings – that guarantees a lot of excitement for Kerpen.”
DSKM: Alexander Schmitz takes championship lead
On Saturday, the three championship favorites Davide Foré (Renda Motorsport), Alexander Schmitz (KSM Racing Team) and Jorrit Pex (Pex Racing Team) dominated the events. During qualifying, Schmitz was the front driver and didn’t let go of his leading position during the heats either. Directly behind him followed Jorrit Pex though – just like Schmitz the four-time champion won one race and came in second once. Third driver Davide Foré was on fourth place on Saturday evening.
At the first finale on Sunday a different driver achieved the victory though: Dylan Davies (CRG Keijzer Racing) was already in great shape during the heats and was able to tie in with this during the first final race. Due to a good start he was able to drive to the front of the shifterkart field on the wet track and didn’t give his opponents any chance for attacks. He extended his position confidently and was able to celebrate his first victory in the German Shifterkart Championship after 25 laps. “I’m overjoyed”, the Dutchman rejoiced at the finish line. Alexander Schmitz provided an additional portion of excitement. After a turbulent starting phase he was only on eleventh place, fought his way forward skillfully though and was even able to drive past Jorrit Pex on second place in a thrilling final spurt. Behind the Dutchman rookie Jarno Opmeer (Maddox Racing Team) showed a perfect performance and came in fourth in front of Ricardo Romkema (KSW BirelART Austria). The top ten was completed by Guust Specken (PDB Racing Team), Pawel Myszkier (Mach1 Motorsport), Marcel Schultheiss (Mach1 Motorsport), Daniel Stell (TB Motorsport Racing Team) and Thomas Neumann (Mach1 Motorsport).
German Alexander Schmitz experienced a déjà vu during the second final race. In heavy rain he achieved the best start but fell back considerably during the second lap again and was only on eleventh place. He wasn’t shaken by this though: Despite the rain getting heavier and a slow-phase he fought his way forward continuously and took the lead five laps before the end of the race: “Aside from the difficult starting phase, this has been a perfect weekend for uns. I was able to take the lead of the championship due to the victory and second place and am now going to travel to my home track in Kerpen as the leading driver”, the Tony kart driver rejoiced at the finish line. Behind Schmitz, Jarno Opmeer increased his great result of the first race and followed on second place – until the overtaking maneuver by Schmitz the rookie had temporarily even confidently led the field. The driver on third place, Benjamin Tornqvist, showed an impressive catching-up race as well: The Swede was able to end up on the winners’ podium after starting from 25th place. Maik Siebecke (SRP Racing Team) achieved fourth position, followed by Guust Specken and Pawel Myszkier. Dylan Davies had bad luck in the meantime: Until shortly before the slow phase the Dutchman led the field, but a slip-up prevented the double success. From 24th place he fought his way forward to seventh place again and thereby came in one position in front of Jorrit Pex. Marcel Schultheiss and Daniel Stell followed on ninth and tenth places.
Everything is still possible in the championship: Due to a double falling out by Davide Foré he fell back behind Alexander Schmitz to second position. Jorrit Pex is still really close on third place as well.
Championship ranking DSKM after 8 of 10 races:
1. Alexander Schmitz (155 points)
2. Davide Foré (136 points)
3. Jorrit Pex (135 points)
4. Maik Siebecke (91 points)
5. Dylan Davies (90 points)
DJKM: Double victory for Ricky Flynn Motorsport
At the juniors, the guest drivers from Team Ricky Flynn Motorsport dominated the events. During qualifying, US-American Logan Sargeant drove the best time in front of his team mate Noah Watt. Fastest regular driver was Max Hesse (RS Motorsport) on third place. Due to a victory and a third place each, Noah Watt (Ricky Flynn Motorsport) and the fast Russian Milen Ponomarenko (BRT) took the reins after the heats. Due to the better qualifying result, Watt achieved pole position for the first final race.
In heavy rain, Logan Sargeant achieved the best start though and was able to extend his lead immediately. After three laps he fell back due to a turn though. Young Dane Noah Watt then took the lead and defended it until the finish line. “After Logan’s slip-up I tried to keep my position and am really happy about this victory”, Watt said after the race. The 20 laps weren’t easy for him then, because his opponents kept pressuring him. Yue Yang Sun (Ricky Flynn Motorsport) kept close to the FA kart driver’s bumper until the end and thereby achieved a double victory for British Team Ricky Flynn Motorsport. Third driver Bent Viscaal (KSM Racing Team) showed a strong catching-up race: From 14th starting position the overall leader fought his way forward to the top three and gained further important championship points. Max Hesse followed on fourth place in front of Aleksi Potter (Ricky Flynn Motorsport) who managed to drive past Luca Lippkau (RMW Motorsport) on the last few meters. Misadventurer Logan Sargeant came in on seventh place in front of Milen Ponomarenko, Felix Arnold (ADAC Hessen-Thüringen e.V.) and Niklas Krütten (Forza Racing).
The second race of the juniors started turbulently: During lunch break the track had dried and the whole field started with slick tires. After five laps the rain set in again though – the race management center decided to stop the race and restart it later with molded tires. Under the changed conditions Chinese Yue Yang Sun achieved the best start and drove towards a safe victory. Behind him things got exciting again towards the end of the race – the rain got heavier and changed the balance of power. Logan Sargeant had fought his way to second place and defended this against Max Hesse. The Wernau resident was the best regular DJKM driver and summed things up positively: “Aside from the first race I’ve gained full points. In the championship I’m only 15 points behind now and am going to fully attack during the finale.” Luca Lippkau and David Brinkmann (KSM Racing Team) ended up in the top five. Championship leader Bent Viscaal came in sixth followed by Niklas Krütten, Felix Arnold, Noah Watt and Luke Wankmüller.
Championship ranking DJKM after 8 of 10 races:
1. Bent Viscaal (182 points)
2. Max Hesse (165 points)
3. David Brinkmann (111 points)
4. Emil Dose (106 points)
5. Felix Arnold (90 points)
DKM: Dominant performance by Richard Verschoor
In the top-class all eyes were on the Dutch duo Martijn van Leeuwen (CRG Keijzer Racing Team) and Richard Verschoor (RB Racing). They travelled to the Magdeburger Boerde as the leading drivers and are going to decide the title fight between them this year. This weekend there was no way past Verschoor though: On Saturday he already made a point by achieving pole position at qualifying and two heat victories. Van Leeuwen wasn’t able to find his rhythm in the meantime and was behind Casper Roes (Ricky Flynn Motorsport) and Christian Soerensen (Strom Development) on fourth place after the heats.
After his heat victories on Saturday, Richard Verschoor was unstoppable during the first final race of the top-class of German kart racing as well. With a start-finish-victory he celebrated his fourth season success and gained a lot of ground in the fight for the title. Dane Andreas Jochimsen (Strom Development) achieved the great second place followed by his fellow countryman Casper Roes. The fights for the fourth position were exciting: Martijn van Leeuwen, Christian Soerensen, Jessica Backmann (Kosmic Racing DPT.) and Sasakorn Chaimongkol (KSM Racing Team) fought throughout the entire race. In the end Chaimongkol came in in front of Backmann and van Leeuwen. Nicolaj Kjaergaard (TK Racing) came in seventh in front of Christian Soerensen, Will Stowell (CRG Keijzer Racing) and Tom Lautenschlager (TB Motorsport Racing Team).
The name of the winner of the second race was Richard Verschoor as well: With an advance of more than 17 seconds he crossed the finish line and drew level with Martijn van Leeuwen on the overall list of rankings. “Now Kerpen is what counts. I know the track from a couple of Rotax-races. I hope things will go just as well as they did here. Everything was just perfect this weekend”, the rookie rejoiced in the evening. The 25 laps were a lot more exciting for reigning champion Martijn van Leeuwen. He fought duels with his opponents but was able to keep second place and was able to limit the damages regarding the fight for the title. The fast Swede Jessica Backmann achieved her first place on the podium by coming in third. Andreas Jochimsen won the Danish duel for fourth place against Nicolai Kjaergaard. Julia Leopold (KSM Racing Team) narrowly missed the cup ranks on sixth place. Moritz Horn (TB Motorsport Racing Team) came in seventh in front of Manuel Valier, Casper Roes and Tom Lautenschlager.
Championship ranking DKM after 8 of 10 races:
1. Richard Verschoor (204 points)
2. Martijn van Leeuwen (204 points)
3. Christian Soerensen (103 points)
4. Tom Lautenschlager (86 points)
5. Manuel Valier (85 points)
With three titles still to be decided, the German Kart Championship is eagerly awaiting the season finale in four weeks (October 4th – 2nd). On the Erftlandring in Kerpen, the final decisions regarding the three grade series are going to be made.
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