At 13, the British driver Lando Norris is one of the revelations of the 2013 season. Winner of several international competitions in his first full year in KF-Junior, he won the European Championship despite difficulties in the final at Ortona after contact with unruly drivers.
“I am delighted with the title of European Champion! Especially as I did not have an easy task. Firstly I had to adapt to the LeCont tyres that we used for the first time at Alcaniz. It took some time, but the RFM Motorsport team worked well and I was faster during testing. The meeting started very well, but then I had to fight back after being bumped in prefinal-1. In the final, I gradually closed on the leader. I passed on the last lap, but he tried to retaliate and he pushed me out of the way. Fortunately, I was able to finish second and then retrieved first place when he was penalized by the stewards.
I didn’t know the track arriving at Ortona. With the data saved by the team I filled the gap in performance after qualifying. Everything went better and better and I started to believe I could get a place on the podium. But the final was very hard. I went off after the start and found myself at the back of the pack. I gave everything to come back, but I was pushed off when passing another driver. I went back onto the track without much hope, and for me, the Championship was lost at that time. In the end, I did well to continue to the finish because that is what allowed me to win the title!“
Info CIK / © Photo KSP