A few days before the start of the FIA Karting European Championship OK & Junior, Kartcom takes stock of the particularities of the spectacular Zuera track, without claiming to compete with the fine analysis of the competition professionals.
The longest track of the season – 1699 m – Zuera is undeniably very fast. From the entrance to the last big right-hand bend to the heavy braking before the first hairpin, the right foot has little opportunity to release its pressure on the gas pedal. During this section, as well as in several other places, the slipstream does not count for nothing, it should be known.
However, the power of the engine is not enough to make the difference. The Aragonese layout is much more subtle than it seems. The first point, the lap times: starting position and slipstream search are the keys to a successful fast lap. When you consider that the qualifying session, which is already short in itself, is only partially used and that each driver has two laps to get the most out of his tyres, it’s easy to understand how difficult the exercise is. There’s a lot to lose at the very beginning of the race.
During the race, several parameters have to be taken into account. Given the speed of the track, contact, even if not very important, is often at the origin of runaways or grouped collisions. Anticipating and monitoring what is happening in front can help avoid a collision, especially at the beginning of the race. Braking allows the best riders to catch up with their rivals, as corner exits are also very strategic. We have often seen large gaps melt like ice in the middle of the desert in Zuera. After that, there are many overtaking opportunities, which should not lead to a hasty attack. You have to choose the right moment so you don’t get passed again. Finally, protecting your position by closing the doors early rarely pays off here and that’s good for the sporting aspect.
Last but not least, paradoxically, it’s not necessary to be the fastest on the track to win. In the four races of the final stages of the recent Champions of the Future OK and OK-Junior, the winners never set the fastest lap. Arvid Lindblad had the 10th fastest time in Junior and Jamie Day the 7th in the pre-final and 5th in the OK final.
Info Kartcom / Photo © KSP