Iame European Performance

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IAME EUROPEAN PERFORMANCE

LAST WEEKEND (1ST AND 2ND AUGUST), AT ESSAY, IN FRANCE, THE EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIP FOR THE SUPERKF & KF1 CATEGORIES (PENULTIMATE AND LAST EVENTS) AND KF2 (SINGLE EVENT) WERE HELD. THE IAME DRIVERS WERE CLOSE TO VICTORY IN THE TOP CATEGORY (2ND AND 3RD PLACES IN THE GENERAL STANDINGS) WHILE ONE OF THE TOP DRIVERS WON THE RACE BUT NOT THE TITLE, IN KF2, FOILED BY A PENALTY.

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or whatever reason, one of the most unpleasant things that can happen in a race is that a driver dominates from the start to the finish, crosses the finish line with his arms held high knowing that no other driver could do anything to stop him, only to find that the competition arrives in the form of a penalty after the race. That is what happened to one of the top IAME drivers, Matteo Viganò (Birel/Parilla), in the KF2 category race (a one off event) valid for the European Championship, which was held last weekend (1-2 August) in Essay in France. A continental title that went up in smoke due to a rule that penalises, at the start, those who are in front. Just as Matteo was (and where he stayed for the entire race). In the SuperKF & KF1 categories the event saw the running of the fifth and sixth event (decisive for the assignment of the title) of the European Championship. The Championship standings show a podium full of Parilla colours, but without the decisive peek of a win: a second place

for Manuel Renaudie (Gillard/Parilla), the home hero, and a third place for Jason Parrott (Birel/ Parilla) which tell the story of the reliability of the IAME engines over the course of the six events. SUPER KF&KF1 The IAME drivers were protagonists right from qualifying on Saturday: 5 karts with Parilla engines in the first 10 positions. First was Miika Kunranta (Birel/Parilla), 5th Manuel Renaudie (Gillard/ Parilla), 6th Aleksi Tuukanen (Birel/Parilla), 9th Jason Parrott (Birel/Parilla) and 10th Aurélian Forgeron (Zanardi/Parilla). An undeniable proof of the regularity and speed of these drivers on the track during the various heats. In the first of the two races Kunranta started from pole position. A leadership that didn’t last long as he made contact with Yannick De Brabander at the first corner, and came of worst, having to retire (but he would find a way to get himself noted in Race 2 anyway even if he could not be expect to win).

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Renaudie immediately got an advantage, helped along by his home crowd, and took first position. He manteined the position until the 3rd lap when Vainio took the lead and started a battle (both were running for the title) that would last until the end of the race but would turn out in favour of the Finnish

driver. A second place for Renaudie that allows him to climb into second place in the Championship, overtaking Jason Parrott who took fifth place in Race 1 after having started from ninth. Behind him came Tuukkanen and Groman (Maranello/Parilla, (who started 15th on the grid). An excellent ninth

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place for Tereza Gromanova (Maranello/Parilla). In race 2, Renaudie got a great start but was seventh after the first lap due to some contacts during the battle which forced him into a difficult race way behind the top positions. A shame, also because at the end of the race he managed to finish in a well earned fifth position. Ahead of him was Jason Parrott who started from ninth spot a was capable of climbing back up to fourth (and in doing so consolidating his third position in the Championship, missing the chance of overtaking Renaudie). Kunranta, who immediately fell out of the running while he was leading race 1, managed to climb back from the back of the field with an incredible come back to take seventh place at the flag, confirming that he likes this track and that his IAME engine is very strong. So the Finnish and the British close with a good second and third position in the Championship standings that leave hope for the next international appointments. KF2 It could have been a beautiful story with a happy ending, that of Matteo Viganò. The Saturday qualifying was difficult for him. So much that he started 25th. But his pre-final was not compromised because of this: just a few laps and he was already third and ready to fight for the final win. A victory for which he made a downpayment on the seventh lap with a decisive overtake. He finished first, while Karol Basz (RK/Parilla) finished eighth and an excellent Andre Hauke (Birel/Parilla) finished 10th after starting from 23rd position and making an incredible race. After that overtake manouver in the pre-final Matteo Viganò would not need any more

(10th), who was the protagonist of an incredible climb through the field from the back of the grid. A great sixth place for Loïc Reguillon (Sodi/Parilla), who was able to climb quite a few position (he started 13th) and finished very close to the leaders.

overtaking (including the final). It wouldn’t be necessary because he would always be there, in front of everyone. And that is exactly the problem. He dominated the race and built a 2 second lead which was then zeroed after a slow flag (for an accident), and then he built a second gap to take the win at the checkuered flag. European KF2 Champion? Nope. Out of the blue arrives a 9 second penalty because at the start he was travelling at 9 km/h above the speed limit (a penalty of 1 second per km/h). This is a questionable rule which, as the driver himself explains, “penalises the man at the front, for obvious reasons” because of the continuous pushing from behind (the driver declared that he was repeatedly pushed notwithstanding his efforts to respect the limit). Anyway it is a rule that has stolen the continental title from Viganò which he earned on track thanks to a perfect kart in every aspect and also steels another wonderful story from karting. Due to the penalty Viganò finished in 12th position just behind Basz (11th) and David Da Luz

Iame S.p.a. - Via Lisbona, 15 - 24040 ZINGONIA (BG) - ITALY Tel. +39.035.88.30.22 - Fax. +39.035.88.57.44

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FINAL CONSIDERATIONS IAME Technical Director Andrea Boscaglia added: “I am happy that the performance levels that we have obtained are evident and I thank all of our staff, starting with those who are responsible for the sporting management, continuing with those who are responsible for making the company work at every level. I also offer a big thanks to the drivers who in every race are committed with us to obtain the maximum results, and to the Team who make this possible every time through their professionalism and passion. Independently from what happened on Sunday, I must join the many others who have complained about the scarce reliability of the current starting system. Firstly, the speed sensor only measures the speed of the first kart that crosses it, and it usually doesn’t have the ability to discern with accuracy whether the registered speed was of the pole sitter or of the second place kart. The video camera films the two rows of karts from a front angle. This is a great shot to be able to decide if any drivers abandon their lane too early, but with regards to possible pushing from behind, it can only spot the most evident pushes made with a “run up”. Sideways observation, which would be much more useful for this type of problem, is left to the eyes of the race stewards. However if the karts are

already all touching, it is impossible to determine for certain if it is the following kart (or maybe more than one) that is accelerating hard in order to push while the driver in pole position is attempting to brake to keep his speed down. Let’s not forget that the current front spoilers and bumpers, with their undeniable advantages, have made pushing possible and “safe”. The final result is that the speed trap is an obvious and undeniable piece of data, if the recorded speed is over 50 km/h the pole sitter will immediately be penalised. All the other indication that should help to identify that responsibility does not lie exclusively with the pole sitter, go through systems that are not as clear cut and reliable”.