from CIK-FIA
Also known as Mari Boya, Jose Maria Navalon Boya is the young Spaniard who won the 2018 FIA Karting Academy Trophy, a standout result for his first participation, when the standard was very high with the presence of Drivers entered in the FIA Karting European Championship – Junior.
Very fast, Jose Maria also showed great ability in management of his Races. After the victory by Marta Garcia Lopez in 2015, this is the second Spanish success in this Competition. Jose Maria is undeniably one of the talents to follow.
HOW DID YOU START IN KARTING COMPETITION?
There are no Drivers in my family, but everyone has always enjoyed motorsport. I discovered go-karting on a track in Valencia at the age of seven. When my parents realised that I wanted to go further and participate in races, they supported me. I first trained with Pedro Ivars, who runs a racing school at Xeresa.
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WHAT WERE YOUR FIRST RESULTS?
I won the Spanish Championship twice in Cadet before participating in international races in Rotax and X30. In 2017, I participated in an OK-Junior event at the WSK Super Master Series at Sarno. This year, I won the Spanish Championship for the 3rd time, in Junior.
CAN YOU COME BACK TO THE PROGRESS OF THE FIA KARTING ACADEMY TROPHY?
I was selected for the first time this year and I did not expect to win against Drivers with more experience. But during the first event in Salbris, I realized that I was among the fastest. The Final was very competitive, I had to fight to regain the lead and distance my opponents. It was a beautiful victory!
The second event in Italy was more complicated because I hurt my ribs at Lonato. I could not fight for another win in these conditions and I was happy to finish 5th. For the final Competition at Genk, I had a small lead in the standings, but I had to keep the advantage. I managed to get back to the front of the Heats and I secured the points for 2nd place to win the Trophy. I probably could have tried to win the race, but it was not the most important thing.
WHAT IS THE FUTURE OF YOUR CAREER?
I am still young and I still enjoy Karting. It’s excellent training. I will probably have a season in OK next year. I would also like to race in KZ before considering moving into single-seaters.
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