Rnd 1 2013 CIK-FIA European (Kart) Championship: KZ1 & KZ2

Rnd 1 2013 CIK-FIA European (kart) Championship for KZ1 & KZ2 

Wackersdorf
Germany
May 16-19
2013

20-05-13

ROUND REVIEW

BRAY QUICK BUT UNLUCKY IN GERMANY

Top Kiwi karter Daniel Bray (GP/TM/Bridgestone) was quick but unlucky at the first round of this year's  CIK-FIA European Championship meeting for KZ1 and KZ2 class karts at Wackersdorf in Germany over the weekend. 

The reigning New Zealand Open class champion and 2011 SKUSA US S1 class title-holder topped the time sheets in two of his free practice runs, qualified 12th and finished third in his first heat race.

That was as good as it was going to get for the talented Kiwi,  however, with a motor blowing in the second heat, a fourth in the third then two more dnfs (thanks to a broken shifter linkage while lying third in the fourth heat and being taken out of the fifth with just two laps to go while in second place) before another third place finish in the final heat.

That gave Bray P19 on the grid for the Pre-Final in which he got as high as ninth before being hit, turned around then driven over by another driver causing too much damage to his kart to continue.

"I thought he was going to take my head of," said a frustrated Bray this morning. "The impact ripped the visor off my helmet and caused too much damage to the kart for me to continue."

Italian-born German Ricardo Negro (DR/TM/Bridgestone) was the big winner in the KZ2 class over the weekend, taking out the Final from Italian Marco Zanchetta (Maranello /TM/Bridgestone) and Swede Joel Johansson (Energy/TM/Bridgestone).

Victory in the premier KZ class, meanwhile, went to Max Verstappen (CRG/TM/Bridgestone) from fellow Dutchman Bas Lammers (Intrepid/TM/Bridgestone)

A busy Bray now spends most of this week on aeroplanes to return home in time for this weekend's round of the YÖGG Rotax Max Challenge of New Zealand  at Tokoroa.

ENDS

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