On 3rd-5th of July the third race in the German Championship was held. 39 drivers in the KZ2 class were in place on the track in Ampfing. The weather conditions changed over the weekend and three races were run on wet track. I went from an exciting Second Chance to Sunday?s Final, where I finished in the best place so far in the championship, 23rd place.
On Friday we had five practice sessions, 20 minutes each. During each session I had problems that made it unable for me to run as many laps as I wanted.
On the first session, one engine mount went off because I went too hard on the high curbs in the chicane. During another session, I got carburettor problems.
On Saturday?s time qualification the problems continued when I didn?t get a time registered.
A flat front left tire made it impossible for me to drive and I had to retire without having received a full speed lap, and thus no time. That was no fun at all, since much depends on the time qualification.
In the rainy first heat, I crossed the line as 20th and in the second heat, which was run on dry track, I finished 23rd.
This meant Second Chance where I started sixth. Just before the start the rain was drizzling down and it was too late to switch to rain tires. I made a strong race when I came in third place and was the fastest driver on slick tires.
It was a long time ago I raced in rain and to go out with slicks was also instructive. It was also fun to get as much attention from the speaker and praise after the race from other drivers and the audience.
In the pre-final on Sunday I started 31st on dry track, but was unfortunately put off the track in the chicane by another driver after only four laps.
The final was an exciting story as the rain came again. This time the rain was completely pouring down and all drivers switched to wet tires in the “pre-start area”. After three laps the final was stopped because it was considered too dangerous to continue.
It was like taking a bath. You couldn?t see anything because of the spray from all karts and it was even hard to see were the track was.
The final was restarted after an hour when the rain had subsided. After four laps remaining, there was a dry line on the track, but I was able to run effectively without burning the rain tires, and finished on 23rd place.
The kart went well in the rain and I had really fun out there. Since I have had so little track time in rain I?m very pleased with my efforts.
Next race is run 7th-9th of August on the track in Liedolsheim, near Karlsruhe.
