IFR's Niki Laa Austrian Vice-Champion

press release

As the youngest entry in the Max class, the Intrepid Force Rotax driver has finished with an excellent result as runner-up over the weekend at the Speedworld circuit near Vienna, in his first ever national Austrian Championship event as a senior. 

Above: Niki Laa leads the newly crowned Austrian Champion Sandro Lukovic during one of Sunday’s races, when the IFR driver again set the best lap and went on to take the race win
pic - VPD Marketing/Jenni Wade

After qualifying 5th, Laa was fastest in the majority of the five of the races over the weekend and actually set a new lap record Sunday, breaking the previous time set last year by Kevin Reichard when also racing for IFR.

This CIK sanctioned meeting was run on a different format to the Austrian Rotax Max Challenge series, where the individual driver points were calculated on results from all five races Saturday and Sunday, with grid positions for each consecutive race being determined by the finishing order of the one prior.

Above: Intrepid Force Rotax Senior Max driver 15-year old Niki Laa on the podium with the 2008 Vice Champion’s trophy
pic - VPD Marketing/Jenni Wade

Quickest in three of the races, Niki’s best results came on the final day when he had a 1st and two 2nd places. It was only eventual title winner Sandro Lukovic (Bosnia) that bettered him in the morning warm-up and in the last of the races, to secure the honours that Reichard had actually claimed for the team the year before.

Laa said he believed it was possible for him to win but unfortunately on the day, Lukovic had the advantage. “I’m still very happy with my result and we were fast all weekend, which was good. The Intrepid chassis and HRS engine were working really well for me. As my first year in seniors, it’s great to be so competitive against some of the more experienced drivers racing here. I have to thank the team and my family for their support.”

The weekend also proved to be very positive as well for IFR’s other senior drivers. Laura Kraihamer finished a credible 10th overall after returning to the Bruck circuit for the first time in two years, having had little time to test with the team lately. In this his first full season of racing, Felix Wimmer drove well to continuously better his laptimes over the weekend and run just outside the top ten in most of the racing, taking 15th in the championship points’ standings.

Above: The Austrian team ran four drivers at the national championship, with some positive results at the Speedworld circuit
pic - VPD Marketing/Jenni Wade

The Junior Max category saw the team’s youngest member Corinna Kamper struggle somewhat during the meeting, as she competed against some rather confident drivers in her class – both from Austria and abroad. However, for the less experienced lady driver who turns 14 this week, it’s all part of the learning process when it comes to racecraft, which is why she in fact joined IFR in 2008.

With the celebrations continuing well after the trophy presentation for Niki’s success, race team manager Ernst Penninger concluded that it was a really positive weekend for the team from a training perspective also.

“Our drivers wanted to compete at the national event and for us it was a good opportunity to test for the final round of the Max Challenge series being held at the here at Speedworld circuit the first weekend in October.”

“To have Niki on the podium with Laura running in the top 5 to 10 throughout the meeting, while Felix in his first Austrian Championship was not so far behind her, it was quite positive for us. The senior drivers did a great job but were unlucky in some of the races, not being able to perform as well as they would have liked.

“In juniors, Corinna still has much to learn if she wants to follow in the footsteps of our other team drivers. In any case, we recognise what’s important at this stage in her young career and will continue with her training and development program. It’s part of what ‘Race To Get There’ is about.

“The whole team worked efficiently over the weekend and I have to give full credit to the guys for their effort and support. The results once again showed their commitment to achieving the best possible for our drivers.”

Early next month, Laa will join two of IFR’s Rotax Euro Challenge drivers to race at the Dutch Championship in Belgium, as they prepare for the deciding round of the international series (September 24 – 28).

Updates can be found on the team’s website at – www.racetogetthere.com or www.intrepidforcerotax.com (operated by VPD)

Home