Plenty Of Pace But Clash Wrecks Armstrong's Top 10 Chance
| press release | 22 June 2015 |
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Kiwi karter Marcus Armstrong showed plenty of pace at the second round of this year's CIK-FIA KF class European Championship at the PF International kart track at Grantham in the English midlands over the weekend - but a clash in the Pre-Final saw him lucky to salvage 17th place in the Final.
The 14-year-old from Christchurch claimed four top 10 finishes in the qualifying heats - 4-5-9-5 - on Saturday to start the Pre-Final on Sunday from P11 on the grid. But that was as good as it got.
Above: Kiwi Marcus Armstrong (#203) finished 17th in the KF class
pic -
Fast Company/Tony Kart
"It was a rough weekend for me." Armstrong said on Sunday night. "Frustrating because there were all the ingredients for a successful weekend but it wasn't to be.
" I was running 6th or 7th in the Pre-Final before (British driver Jordan) Lennox-Lamb and I both went into the wall on Lap 4.
"When you lose touch of the front pack, it is impossible to fight back. Disappointing but we can't dwell on it."
The incident put Lennox-Lamb out of the Pre-Final, but Armstrong was able to continue and cross the finish line in 23rd position - from where he moved up to 17th place in the Final, won by Tom Joyner from fellow Brit and round 1 winner Ben Hanley with American driver Juan Correa third.
Though the Final result was similar Armstrong was a lot stronger early on in the weekend than he was at the opening round of this year's CIK-FIA European Championships series at Portimao in Portugal last month.
There he qualified 24th, had a 15-13-9 run through the heats to grid up on P21 and finish 16 in the Pre-Final and 19th in the Final.
The final round of the 2015 CIK-FIA European Championships will be held at Kristianstad, Sweden in Sweden over the July 25/26 weekend.
2015 CIK-FIA KF & KFJ European Championships Rnd 2 PF International Circuit Grantham Great Britain Thurs-Sun June 17-21
Results
KF class
Final
1. Tom Joyner (Zanardi/TM Racing/Vega)
2. Ben Hanley (Croc Promotions/TM Racing/Vega)
3. Juan Correa (Energy Corse/TM Racing/Vega)
4. Richard Verschoor (Exprit/Vortex/Vega)
5. Nicklas Nielsen (Tony Kart/Vortex/Vega)
6. Pedro Hiltbrand (CRG/Parilla/Vega)
also
17. Marcus Armstrong (Tony Kart/Vortex/Vega)
Points after Rnd 2 of 3
1. Ben Hanley 65
2. Tom Joyner 52
3. Felice Tiene 31
4. Juan Correa 25
5. Richard Verschoor 23
6. Martijn Van Leeuwen 23
also
26. Marcus Armstrong 0
Calendar
2015 CIK-FIA KF & KFJ Championships
Rnd 1 May 7-10 Kartodromo Internacional do Algarve - Portimao Portugal
Rnd 2 June 18-21 Grantham, UK
Rnd 3 July 23-26 Kristianstad, Sweden
