Very exciting to follow, the Swedish event at Kristianstad allowed several drivers to reposition themselves, guaranteeing total uncertainty as to the future winners who will be celebrated in the United Kingdom. In the end, it was Ireland’s Fionn McLaughlin in the OK class and Belgium’s Dries Van Langendonck in the OK-Junior class who crossed the finish line as the big winners. Van Langendonck regained the lead in the overall OK-Junior standings, while his compatriot Thibaut Ramaekers retained the lead in the OK series despite a twist of fate on the final lap of the Final!
For three days, the ideal weather conditions for this summer period enabled the drivers and teams to work constructively throughout the event. With the support of all its partners, its experienced staff accustomed to these major international events, the highly competent Kristianstad Karting Club team and the assistance of manufacturer Maxxis, promoter RGMMC has once again delivered top-class organisation.
OK-Junior: An important victory for Van Langendonck
Having lost the leadership of the series after his disastrous weekend in Slovakia, Dries Van Langendonck (Forza Racing) got his competition off to the best possible start with pole position ahead of Arjen Kraeling (KR Motorsport) and Borys Lyzen (Sodikart). The Belgian then followed up with a faultless performance in the Qualifying Heats: five wins out of five! The other victories went to Iacopo Martinese (KR Motorsport), Christian Costoya (Parolin Motorsport), Noah Baglin (Prema Racing), Niklas Schaulfer (DPK Racing), Joel Pohjola (Tony Kart Racing Team), William Calleja (Parolin Motorsport), Scott Marsh (Tony Kart Racing Team), Bosco Arias (DPK Racing), Iskender Zulfikari (Forza Racing) and Borys Lyzen. These 11 different winners confirmed the appeal of the very open Champions of the Future Euro Series. The two Super Heats were won by Marsh and Arias.
In the final, Van Langendonck got off to a perfect start, while Martinese found himself off the track and lost any chance of a good result. Lyzen led the early stages of the race after an excellent first lap, but soon came under pressure from the chasing pack. Some magnificent duels pitted Lysen against Marsh, Zulfikari and Baglin, who were soon joined by the very fast Costoya and Dean Hoogendoorn (AKM Motorsport).
After a great effort, Costoya overtook all his rivals to move up to 2nd place. In front of him, Van Langendonck had widened the gap and won ahead of the Spaniard, the two drivers finishing with identical fastest race laps of 51″215, proof of the extreme competitiveness of the two young drivers. Behind him, Marsh finally isolated himself in 3rd position to complete the podium. Baglin came in 4th under the chequered flag just ahead of Lyzen, but the two drivers plunged to 9th and 10th respectively following penalties. Arias took 4th place ahead of Hoogendoorn, Kraeling, Zulfikari and Pohjola. 11th-placed Schaufler had his ups and downs, but remains 2nd in the provisional series standings, sandwiched between Van Langendonck and Costoya.
OK: McLaughlin beats Matveev, Ramaekers unlucky
Jimmy Helias (Victory Lane) and Zac Drummond (Parolin Motorsport) topped their group in Qualifying Practice, but their lap times were not enough to deny pole position to Dmitry Matveev (KR Motorsport), the fastest driver in Group 1. An impressive Matveev won all five of his heats, while Fionn McLaughlin (VDK Racing) and Gabriel Gomez (CRG Racing Team) won three. Helias took two wins, the other two going to Scott Kin Lindblom (Fusion Motorsport) and Vivek Kanthan (Parolin Motorsport). Matveev confirmed his position in his Super Heat, while Joe Turney (KR Motorsport) stepped up a gear with victory in the second Super Heat.
Part of the Final was decided as soon as the lights went out, as McLaughlin explains: ‘Dmitry Matveev has been fast all weekend and it was important to get off to a good start. Mine was excellent and I was able to get the better of him straight away to take the lead on the first lap. I then pushed as hard as I could to open up a gap. I managed to control the lead I had over my rivals right to the end. It’s an important victory just before the European Championship and as part of the Champions of the Future, in which anything is still possible. I’ll be doing everything I can to get the best possible result in England in September.’
Behind McLaughlin, who led from the first to the last lap, a lot happened. First it was Louis Iglesias (CRG Racing Team) who lost out on a number of places in the scramble at the start. The first lap didn’t go in Jimmy Helias’s favour either, while Zac Drummond tried to make a place for himself, before dropping back. Initially a threat behind Matveev, Gomez then had to drop back a place to Thibaut Ramaekers (VDK Racing). He then gave way to Turney. Ramaekers passed Matveev and set off in pursuit of the leader. The final twist came on the last lap, when Ramaekers suffered a mechanical problem. Matveev and Turney joined McLaughlin in that order on the podium. Behind Gomez in 4th place were Jindrich Pesl (A.S.D. Monster Factory), David Walther (Tony Kart Racing Team) and Davide Bottaro (CRG Racing Team), who gained 15 places during the Final. Ranked 8th and 9th respectively, Lindblom and Salim Hanna (Prema Racing) contributed to the liveliness of the Final.
Despite his disappointment, Ramaekers remains series leader ahead of Turney, Gomez and McLaughlin.
