The 24th Winter Cup took place at Lonato in very good weather, and the OK and OK-Junior grids brought together many very fast drivers so the great Italian season-opening classic proved to be very selective from start to finish. Despite the disappointment of Ten Brinke’s retirement, one of the favourites from the start of the Final, RFM managed to place two of its drivers, Wharton and Laursen, on the OK-Junior podium, while Ho and Van Hoepen made good comebacks. In OK, Thompson’s return to the top five of the Final also rewarded the work of the team.
The Winter Cup, considered a difficult race, did not lose its reputation in 2019. The experience of Ricky Flynn Motorsport allowed the British team to provide its drivers with particularly competitive FA Kart / Vortex equipment, and they were highlighted in the leading group or returned to the top positions for those who failed to achieve good times in Qualifying Practice.
Starting 15th in the Junior standings, Thomas Ten Brinke had a very good run in the heats and started from 2nd place on the grid of the Final. Unfortunately an incident ended his hopes on the second lap. James Wharton set the 4th fastest time and won three heats on the track, but a penalty of 10” relegated him to 7th. He gained five places in the Final and reached the second step of the podium.
Conrad Laursen drove a magnificent Final by gaining no less than 10 positions for a superb 3rd place finish. Christian Ho was very convincing when he returned to the top 10 to finish in 9th position after taking 11 places, after starting in 26th in Qualifying and having to give up in a race. Special mention for Laurens van Hoepen who made up for his disappointing Qualifying (47th) by regaining ground in each race. He took another nine places in the Final to reach 13th place, a total gain of 34 positions throughout the meeting.
Harry Thompson was not happy with his 29th time in OK Qualifying. He had already taken 14 places at the end of the heats and continued his effort in the Final. He thus returned to the top five of the Winter Cup by gaining another 10 places. Kai Askey started with a good 10th time in Qualifying and was 13th in the heats. He crossed the finish line in 11th place before a penalty of 5” dropped him to 18th position.
The whole RFM team will be back on track at Lonato next weekend for the second round of the WSK Super Master Series.
Info Kartcom / © Photos KSP