Joys and sorrows for Forza Racing at the Adria Karting Raceway during this last act of the WSK Final Cup, which puts an end to the 2018 season.
The team, in fact, suffered bad luck in OKJ where the drivers failed to finish the Final, but we did see an extremely positive weekend in OK with Dilano van T’Hoff who did a great job, despite it being his debut.
Rain especially influenced the season’s last weekend, forcing drivers and mechanics to do an exceptional job to adapt to the various changes in the track.
OKJ – Misfortune prevents maximizing results in Juniors
Gilles Stadsbader – The Belgian started the weekend positively, finishing the qualifying session by scoring the 3rd fastest time in his group and 8th overall. Stadsbader then improved further in the heats and finished in P6. A difficult Prefinal had him slide backwards. In the Final, he was, alas, forced to raise a white flag in the first stages of the race.
Tikhon Kharitonov – After a troubled qualification, Kharitonov was able to improve his lot during the weekend between the heats and Prefinal, closing the latter in 5th place and recovering 7 positions from his start. Unfortunately, no happy ending in the Final as the Russian was also forced to retire.
Alex Dunne – The young Irish driver’s weekend started from behind in qualifying, but a good comeback in the first heat left room for hope for the rest of the event. Unfortunately, bad luck was again waiting in the sidelines and due to spoiler release on two occasions, Dunne could not follow up on the the result of the first heat. Retirement in the Final unfortunately thwarted his good solid performance in the Pre-final.
OK – A contact precludes Turney from entering the Final, van T’Hoff immediately promoted to Senior
Dilano van T’Hoff – The bet made by the team to make him debut at the last round of the season certainly paid off. Van t’Hoff indeed closed in the top 5 on his first appearance in an OK class race. After P40 in qualifying caused by a technical problem, his weekend went from good to great, just off the podium, with a 5th place finish.
Joe Turney – Following the podium at 7 Laghi Kart, the Briton again confirms himself to be among the fastest even at the Adria Karting Raceway, with his always being among the front runners during qualifying and heats. After the best lap in the Sunday warm up, a small mistake at the first corner in the Pre-Final precluded the possibility to access the top 5 and compete once again for a podium position.
Jamie Croxford: «It was a very “particular” weekend, once again the team showed great speed but unfortunately the Junior drivers were struck by bad luck that prevented them from taking home their last joy of the season. The same fate for Joe, but he confirmed himself to be among the fastest in the category. I would like to take the time to congratulate Dilano, who immediately made himself known in the highest expression of the direct drive style karting, snatching 5th place».
The team is already engaged in testing ahead of next season.
© photo: M. Perrucca