Alex Albon Race Report - WSK European Cup

Rd1, La Conca, Italy, 5-8 March 2010

The first round of the WSK European Cup was held at La Conca way down in the south of Italy and Alex and the Intrepid team headed off for some pre race testing on the Tuesday before the race weekend. There had been some changes in the WSK European Cup since last year with the most notable being thee KF3 runners would be on harder Dunlop tyres. This was not ideal for Alex as he is a very smooth driver and it could be difficult for him to get heat in the tyres. The three days of testing went well with Alex constantly the fastest driver along with Max Verstappen who was going very well in his first year in Europe. Alex was very happy with the kart and felt he had a good set up for the weekend. The weather was very changeable and rain was forecast for the weekend which would make the racing interesting.

Qualifying on Friday was split into three groups as there were 90 drivers entered. Alex would start in the third session. The rain started to come down hard but by the time Alex went out it had stopped. Alex put in a good time and was second in his group and second overall from the three sessions. Once all the times were in Alex would start three heats from second and one heat from pole. At La Conca it is a real disadvantage to start second as it is a short run from the start to the first corner and the track was very dirty on the outside. At the start of the heat Alex kept second place behind Max Verstappen as they both headed the pack. As they came through the chicane Alex suddenly slowed and stopped. It appeared his chain had come off. This meant a DNF and maximum points for the pre-final. When Alex got back after the heat it was found that the chain had indeed come off. The team felt that on the cold tyres when Alex took some curb had caused the problem. It now meant Alex had to do well in the other three heats to get through to the pre-final a challenge he always relishes.

For heat 2 Alex was again in second place and slotted into third as the lights changed. HE was on the tail of Jake Dennis in second when he started to loose time. He managed to retain third place as the flag dropped. Back at the awning Alex said the engine had lost a little power and Gordie of the engine tuner GFR felt it was a carb problem so a new one was fitted for the next heat. In heat 3 Alex started from pole and lead from start to finish with no problems and setting fastest lap on the way. All he now needed was a good finish in heat 4 to get through to the pre-final.

Starting from second Alex was forced to go wide as the pack approached the first bend. All of a sudden there was a major incident in the pack and Alex’s kart was hit hard from behind. This forced Alex off the track and once again his chain was knocked off in the impact. Another DNF meant Alex would not go through to the pre-final. Also this year there is no repechage (second chance) in the KF3 class so Alex’s weekend was over.

A disappointing weekend for Alex and the Intrepid team but in two weeks time is the next race and Alex is confident of a good result as he knows he is on the pace and his new kart is working well.