Ampfing Heats: Janker Confirms, David and Bortoleto Nick-And-Neck
With 24 Heats, Saturday is a large part of the Qualifying Phase in the CIK-FIA European Championship. At Ampfing (DEU), for the third of the four Competitions of the 2018 season, the warm and sunny weather enabled exceptional action. The German Hannes Janker, poleman after Qualifying Practice in OK, continued to dominate the category with four clear wins. The situation has changed somewhat in OK-Junior with great performances from the Frenchman Hadrien David and the Brazilian Gabriel Bortoleto, with three victories each.
The programme of the day included 24 of the 30 Qualifying Heats of the German Kart Grand Prix, counting for the CIK-FIA European Championship and the CIK-FIA European Junior Championship. The differences generally remained small between the protagonists on the 1063m of the Ampfing track, which gave rise to very interesting Heats. The fairly frequent penalties, especially for out-of-position fairings, therefore had a greater impact on the tight results. The later Heats were influenced by the choice by some Drivers to use their second set of new tyres earlier to try to move up the rankings, while those in the best positions saved this opportunity for later. This Qualifying Phase will end on Sunday morning with the last six remaining Heats. Then it will be the turn of the 34 Drivers qualified in each category to compete in the decisive Finals. The probability of rain showers is quite high at Ampfing on Sunday, an element to take into account for the rest of the Competition.
DAVID AND BORTOLETO SUCCEED IN JUNIORS
With three wins out of four races each, Hadrien David (FRA), 8th in Qualifying, took the lead in OK-Junior over Gabriel Bortoleto (BRA), 7th at the start, with a 2nd place as opposed to a 3rd for his rival. A two-time winner, Luca Griggs (GBR) was in good form against Kai Askey (GBR) and poleman Paul Aron (EST), who took a win each. Very consistent in the top three, the provisional leader of the standings Gabriel Mini' retained every chance of scoring important points during Sunday's Final. Starting 15th in Qualifying, Kirill Smal (RUS) managed to win one Heat and take two 2nd places, but a penalty deprived him of another important victory and dropped him back out of the top 10.
JANKER DOMINANT IN OK
Hannes Janker (DEU) made a strong impression by winning his four Qualifying Heats with a comfortable lead over his opponents each time. He therefore approaches the last day of Competition in a strong position. Lorenzo Travisanutto (ITA), however, remained a formidable rival with his three wins ahead of Harry Thompson (GBR) and Juho Valtanen (FIN) tied with two wins and two 2nd places. Zane Maloney (BRB) completed a very dynamic top five. Amongst other leading players in the Championship standings, Roman Stanek (CZE) was in the top 10, ahead of David Vidales Ajenjo (ESP), while Championship leader Pedro Hiltbrand (ESP) was ranked a few places back.
Six Qualifying Heats will be run on Sunday morning and will have the possibility of changing the situation before the Finals, in particular according to the strategy chosen for the use of new tyres, as well as the weather conditions. The verdict and the 34 Finalists will be known after 12:30, while the Finals will be held between 13:30 and 15:30. The results are available on www.cikfia.com, while live streaming allows you to follow the Competition remotely.
