Photo: IAME Euro Series

Aaron Garcia claimed the IAME Euro Series’ X30 Senior title in the final round at Mariembourg last weekend.

He trailed Harrison Mackie and defending champion Danny Carenini at the season’s halfway mark, but Mackie fell behind both in round three at Wackersdorf in June.

The drama started in qualifying there, with 0.18 seconds splitting the top nine in group one (topped by Lars Ramaer) and top 12 in group two (where Carenini edged Ruben Moya by 0.029s), while wet weather impacted group two and led to big gaps as Max Radeck set the pace and Garcia was fourth.

Moya went on to win four of his heats and come second in the other, with Joan Aluja and Carenini each winning three and Garcia taking two. A second place was Mackie’s best result.

Superheat one pitted Moya and Carenini against each other, and the former triumphed by 1.078s, while Aluja led home Garcia by 0.861s in superheat two.

Moya slowed down the field as much as he could before switching to racing speeds at the start of the final, and Carenini took second from Aluja.

The driver to watch though was Freddie Lloyd, who had come second in one heat and started the final from 10th. He set fastest laps as he carved his way up to the lead pack of six, and began lap six in fifth as Carenini took the lead at turn three.

Carenini lost out to Moya and Garcia on lap seven, as Lloyd passed Aluja for fourth. The lap ended with them almost four-wide, and Lloyd emerged in second ahead of Garcia, Sebastiano Pavan, Aluja and Carenini.

Lloyd took a lead he would not give up on lap nine, with Garcia also passing Moya. Carenini recovered ground on the next lap, and knocked Moya off the podium on lap 12. Before Moya could respond, 11th-placed starter Jacob Micallef overtook him on lap 13 and gaps began opening up.

Micallef got up to third, and Moya fell to sixth. Mackie rose from 18th to eighth, but was now third in the standings behind Carenini and Garcia.

He skipped Mariembourg, where rain hit qualifying but did not shake up the order too much.

Elie Goldstein was third in his group but came through to win four heats. Garcia took the points lead as he won three — including the wet opener — as did Moya. Qualifying pacesetter Kevin Lantinga only converted pole into victory once.

Goldstein won again in superheat one. Garcia passed him a few laps in, but he got back ahead and Garcia was then swiftly demoted to third by Charly Glume. He had gone from 10th to fourth on lap one.

Zac Green twice finished second from pole in the heats, then had redemption in superheat two with an utterly dominant victory. He led Roxanne Lantinga by 6.782s, with Moya a further 7.668s back in third and just ahead of Carenini.

Moya got into the lead on lap one of the final, and in the pack just behind was Lloyd and Matthias Vandekerckhove, who picked up damage.

It was three-wide for the lead as lap four began and Moya lost out, eventually dropping to seventh behind Carenini as Goldstein moved into the lead ahead of Lloyd. Garcia was the next big loser and was down to 10th, then Carenini lost a lot of water from his kart yet continued in the top six for a few more laps before retiring and his title hopes literally drying up.

Vandekerckhove was soon into second, and traded the lead with Goldstein from lap nine onwards. Kevin Lantinga got involved and on lap 11 the top two clashed and Lloyd got into second behind Vandekerckhove. Garcia was still a distant seventh, but one of the fastest drivers.

Goldstein went down the inside of Lloyd into turn one on lap 13, Lloyd got back past at turn two then Lantinga cleared both. It allowed Vandekerckhove to break clear, and brought Moya back into play.

He quickly cleared Lloyd, but after battling with Lantinga on lap 15 lost ground. They had closed up again by the last lap, and after Lantinga took too much kerb there was contact. Lloyd made a double pass, then Moya did the same, before being forced off by Lantinga.

As they fell back, it set up a photo finish. Lloyd clinched third by 0.088s over Roxanne Lantinga, who got back ahead of Garcia by 0.087s at the line. Fifth place was enough for him to comfortably claim the crown, and Lloyd’s impressive half-season put him sixth in the standings.

Results round-up
Wackersdorf
Final (17 laps)
1 Freddie Lloyd Premium Karting [Lando Norris] 14m13.829s
2 Aaron Garcia MDC Racing [KR] +0.847s
3 Jacob Micallef Zanchi Motorsport [KR] +1.129s
4 Danny Carenini Zanchi Motorsport [KR] +1.681s
5 Sebastiano Pavan Pantano [IAME] +2.582s
6 Ruben Moya Pantano [Pantano] +3.057s
7 Joan Aluja MDC Racing [IAME] +3.410s
8 Harrison Mackie Fusion Motorsport [KR] +4.170s
9 Kevin Lantinga Croc Promotion [Croc Promotion] +5.401s
10 Aleix Pinera RC2 Racing Team [Gillard] +6.864s
Fastest lap: Micaleff, 49.455s

Mariembourg
Final (18 laps)
1 Matthias Vandekerckhove Victory Lane [KR] 16m47.709s
2 Elie Goldstein TBKart [TBKart] +2.204s
3 Lloyd +5.920s
4 Roxanne Lantinga Croc Promotion [Croc Promotion] +6.008s
5 Garcia +6.095s
6 Victor Louis RSD Karting [Kosmic] +7.708s
7 Moya KB Racing Experience [Tony Kart] +8.103s
8 Luca Leistra MCK Racing [Tony Kart] +9.794s
9 Otto Pyykonen Croc Promotion [Croc Promotion] +10.604s
10 Sem van der Heijden Haupt Racing [Kosmic] +10.702s
FL: van der Heijden, 55.091s

Championship standings
1 Garcia 236   2 Carenini 192   3 Moya 175   4 Vandekerckhove 157   5 Mackie 151   6 Lloyd 135   7 K Lantinga 93   8 R Lantinga 110   9 Goldstein 94   10 Zac Green 91

The post Aaron Garcia claims IAME Euro Series’ X30 Senior title in dramatic final appeared first on Formula Scout.

Photo: The RaceBox

The IAME Euro Series season reached its halfway point last weekend, and Harrison Mackie leads the X30 Senior standings.

Round one took place at Italian track Cremona, and it was very close in qualifying as pole in each group was decided by less than 0.1 seconds.

Mackie, Riccardo Ferrari and Danny Carenini won the first three heats, and in the fourth Clement Outran was victorious as Markus Glume climbed 17 spots to third.

Kevin Lantinga dominated the next heat, despite starting ninth, then on a drying track Andy Ratel won by 8.374s. The wettest conditions led to fewer overtaking, with Carenini and Outran winning the following heats.

As the track began drying again, Ratel romped to a 12s win then Mackie picked up another first place finish as Lantinga edged Carenini to second by 0.07s.

In the final damp heat, Ruben Moya and Cian Geraghty came from 23rd and 15th to finish six seconds apart at the front after Matthias Vandekerckhove got a bumper penalty that demoted him from second to seventh.

Moya was 14th after two laps, sixth by lap five and third a lap later. When the top two’s battling went awry, Moya was first to profit.

Outran won the next heat, Ferrari pipped Gus Lawrence by 0.044s for his second victory then Andrea Barbieri and Carenini claimed the final two.

The rain returned for superheat one, won by Carenini, and Lantinga was at the front through superheat two. Zac Green forced Moya off to take second, before a penalty swapped their places.

It was a very wet final, and Carenini led from pole as Vandekerckhove jumped from fifth to second. He overtook Carenini at turn two on lap six, and a lap later Boya and Lantinga followed through.

Lantinga hit a kerb on lap 12 and that brought Ratel onto his tail. Ratel pulled off an incredible move, before hunting down the top two.

Moya was all over Vandekerckhove late on, but on the penultimate lap ran deep at turn eight into a muddy puddle. Lantinga went around the outside of Ratel at the race’s final corner to take second by 0.038s, as a bumper penalty demoted Moya to sixth.

Aaron Garcia and Mackie each won two heats in round two at Zuera, with Sem van der Heijden and Otto Pyykonen taking the other two. Garcia comfortably led home Roxanne Lantinga in superheat one, and in superheat two Vandekerckhove looked behind at the finish just as Pyykonen drew alongside. He won by less than 0.001s.

Garcia, Pyykonen and Mackie pulled away at the start of the final, and traded places until Hugo Jalade joined in and squabbled with Garcia. He then cycled back to the front as Roxanne Lantinga made it a six-kart fight, and the lead kept changing hands until Garcia started defending on lap 11.

Eloi Gonzalez Moreno tried breaking Garcia’s defences with a lunging move that earned himself a penalty, so Mackie then led.

Jalade went off soon too, and on the last lap Garcia tried going around Pyykonen’s outside. Despite hitting the grass, Pyykonen retained his speed and finished third behind Garcia, with Carenini climbing 11 spots to fourth.

Results round-up
Cremona
Final (17 laps)
1 Matthias Vandekerckhove Victory Lane [KR] 18m42.024s
2 Kevin Lantinga Croc Promotion [Croc Promotion] +4.121s
3 Andy Ratel Pantano [Pantano] +4.159s
4 Zac Green Jamie Green Racing [KR] +6.055s
5 Cristian Biasatti TBKart [TBKart] +7.618s
6 Ruben Moya Pantano [Pantano] +7.790s
7 Clement Outran Dream Racing [Kosmic] +9.079s
8 Danny Carenini Zanchi Motorsport [Tony Kart] +12.071s
9 Andrea Barbieri Zanchi Motorsport [Tony Kart] +14.143s
10 Cian Geraghty Geraghty Motorsport [Tony Kart]
Fastest lap: Ratel, 1m05.515s

Zuera
Final (16 laps)
1 Harrison Mackie Fusion Motorsport [KR] 17m03.145s
2 Aaron Garcia MDC Racing [KR] +0.333s
3 Otto Pyyykonen Croc Promotion [Croc Promotion] +0.569s
4 Carenini +0.850s
5 Aleix Pinera RC2 Racing Team [Gillard] +0.857s
6 Bertram Sachse Falcon [Falcon] +1.726s
7 Roxanne Lantinga Lantinga Racing [OTK] +1.859s
8 Marius Barry-Berg Barry-Berg Racing [KR] +2.011s
9 Sam Woolley Team BMR [KR] +2.436s
10 K Lantinga +2.810s
FL: Green, 1m03.073s

Championship standings
1 Mackie 133   2 Carenini 108   3 Garcia 94   4 K Lantinga 93   5 Vandekerckhove 85   6 Pyykonen 74   7 Outran 66   8 Ratel 57   9 R Lantinga 54   10 Green 50

The post Harrison Mackie leads thrilling first half of IAME Euro Series season appeared first on Formula Scout.

Photo: RGMMC

IAME’s Euro Series concluded in remarkable fashion at Genk, with Danny Carenini crowned X30 Senior champion.

New Red Bull junior Fionn McLaughlin was the pre-weekend points leader, with Carenini, Marcus Luzio, Riccardo Ferrari, Ruben Moya and Andy Ratel his title rivals.

Roxanne Lantinga pipped McLaughlin in free practice, then French duo Clement Outran and Ratel set the qualifying pace, took two heats each and won the superheats to fill the final front row.

A four-way title fight now existed, with two-time heat winner Carenini eight points behind McLaughlin, one-time heat winner Luzio trailing by 15 and Ratel 25 back.

Ratel needed to win while McLaughlin non-scored to have any hope of being champion, which became more likely when McLaughlin – who was 26th on the grid – punctured on the formation lap and failed to start. Moya stalled and Ferrari stopped off-track too, but were able to race.

Henkie Kalteren jumped from fifth to second at the start while Elie Goldstein and Eloi Gonzalez Moreno collided. Moya and Luzio slotted into third and fourth ahead of Ratel, with Carenini in eighth.

The top two fought through lap three, then clashed on lap four and Luzio slipped past into the race and points lead. Outran dropped to fifth, and when senior karting veteran Carenini passed Moya for third that put him second in the standings.

He nabbed second place on lap seven, and his lap eight attempt to pass Luzio sent him bouncing over the kerbs, sliding into Luzio and Kalteren snatching the lead. At the next hairpin Moya took second in a double move.

Carenini was now points leader, as Luzio dropped to sixth, and was happy to stay in third to ensure title success. Luzio recovered to fourth on lap 13, and Carenini signalled he wanted the top two to push ahead rather than fight and potentially put themselves in Luzio’s reach. Moya took the lead mid-lap, then Kalteren let Carenini past.

The title came closer on lap 15 as Mattiz Meerschaut passed Luzio, and in the last laps Boya did not push but Carenini held back the temptation to engage in battle until the final seconds. Boya won by 0.096 seconds over the new champion.

The X30 Junior final also failed to feature the championship leader, as Harrison Mackie came to Genk but Fusion Motorsport withdrew him from the event since he was already champion on dropped scores.

Zac Green – son of 2004 Formula 3 Euro Series champion Jamie – led free practice, Evan Purcell topped qualifying, and Dan Allemann was the only driver to win multiple heats then Devon Hagelen denied him superheat one victory by 0.079s.

Riley Cranham won superheat two to start the final in second, between Allemann and Green.

Allemann led Green and Juste Mulder at first, with Green moving ahead on lap three. Mulder passed Allemann on lap five, and a lap later took a lead he would not give up. Green got alongside before the race’s final corner, but finished 0.062s behind.

Buckley was a distant third, losing the championship runner-up spot to Green, and Allemann finished seventh.

Results round-up
X30 Senior final (17 laps)
1 Ruben Moya Pantano Racing Team [Pantano] 15m42.991s
2 Danny Carenini Zanchi Motorsport [Tony Kart] +0.096s
3 Henkie Kalternen RSD Karting [Kosmic] +0.272s
4 Mattiz Meerschaut KCR Racing [Croc Promotions] +0.944s
5 Marcus Luzio Premium Karting [Lando Norris] +1.244s
6 Alex Machado TBKart [TB Kart] +2.469s
7 Cian Geraghty Geraghty Motorsport [Kosmic] +3.175s
8 Andy Ratel Pantano Racing Team [Pantano] +3.240s

Championship standings
1 Carenini 74   2 Fionn McLaughlin 66   3 Luzio 62   4 Moya 61   5 Clement Outran 42   6 Ratel 42   7 Ricardo Ferrari 38   8 Geraghty 35

X30 Junior final (14 laps)
1 Juste Mulder Victory Lane [Kart Republic] 13m04.642s
2 Zac Green Jamie Green Racing [Kart Republic] +0.062s
3 Tadgh Buckley Mick Barrett Racing [Gillard] +4.427s
4 Riley Cranham Fusion Motorsport [Kart Republic] +4.779s
5 Arthur De Doncker RSD Karting [Kosmic] +4.962s
6 Benjamin Manach Birel ART [Birel ART} +5.475s
7 Dan Allemann Spirit Karting [Lando Norris] +7.011s
8 Devon Hagelen Fusion Motorsport [Kosmic] +7.253s

Championship standings
1 Harrison Mackie 85   2 Green 78   3 Buckley 74   4 Cranham 61   5 Manach 52   6 Mulder 45   7 Toby Gale 41   8 Thomas Pradier 36

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