Already a Junior title-holder at European level with Lando Norris in 2013 and Enaam Ahmed in 2014, to mention only the most recent, the RFM team have just won again on the Genk track (BEL). After breathtaking suspense, the young Briton Finlay Kenneally has won the CIK-FIA European Championship in the new OK-Junior category, while the Moroccan Sami Taoufik finished in the top five. The American Logan Sargeant also finished his first European Championship in OK in 5th position.
The team from Waltham Abbey (UK) has once again played leading roles in European competition on FA Kart chassis and new generation Vortex OK engines prepared by One Engines. It has confirmed its status of excellence among the private teams competing on equal terms with the factory teams. The racing was very tough at Genk with strong competition present.
Ranked 4th in the championship since the first event at Zuera, Fin Kenneally took advantage of the circumstances to score many points in Belgium. First he took 2nd place after the heats before finishing 4th in Prefinal 2. He then raced perfectly in the Final, assuring a magnificent 2nd place that gave him the European title. This great feat was achieved in his first international Junior season in CIK racing which shows, in addition to the talent of the young driver, the quality of the training provided by RFM race after race.
"It's always very satisfying for us to win a European title," confided Ricky Flynn. "We are proud of the rapid progress that Fin has made with us. Technically, we have worked hard to adapt to the new engines and to best manage the track conditions and tyres. But we often forget to remember that the human aspect of racing is extremely important. Our young drivers are very talented, but they often need guidance in learning from the competition. The attention we give them throughout the season is well-rewarded thanks to our extensive experience in this field."
Although he had a bad start in Spain, Sami Taoufik's European Championship saw him move back up the rankings with perseverance. The winner of the WSK Super Master Series started the meeting at Genk in 10th position in the Championship. With solid progress that led him to victory in Prefinal 2 and 4th place in the Final, he reached the top five of the Championship. The Australian Oscar Piastri had hardly started the event before he had to face some difficulties in the heats before Qualifying with a big gain of 13 places in Prefinal 1. Although he regained ground in the Final (+ 8 places ) he slipped back at the end of the race following an incident. After a very convincing start of the weekend, the German Niklas Kruetten came home in the top 10 at the end of the heats. A collision was unfortunately lost him all his chances on the second lap of Prefinal 1 while running 4th.
Winner of the WSK Champions Cup in the early season, Logan Sargeant met several obstacles on the road to his European Championship. But he was well on the pace at Genk with 3rd in Qualifying and a 2nd positon in Heat 1. But his retirement in the second heat significantly handicapped him and he had to settle for 9th place in the Final. However, he finished 5th in the Championship.
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