Thursday 09/04/09

AVD KART CHALLENGE

Even before its first event, the AvD Kart Challenge was attracting a lot of attention from racing teams and the media, in particular because this year, for the first time, the challenge counts towards the Sodi World Series ranking.

Last Saturday was not just the first event of the AvD Kart Challenge, but also the international kick-off of the SWS Master Cup Endurance.

No fewer than 23 teams were registered, and 22 were present at the X Kart track in Hahn-Wildbergerhütte Saturday.

After registration and the drawing for the karts by the team leaders, the teams took possession of the brand new Sodi RX250’s and hit the track for an hour of free practices.
On this difficult track, the drivers took the time to familiarize themselves with their powerful 22-hp karts, and quickly got the feel of their new vehicles.

Compared to last year’s RX7, this year’s karts are equipped with new 4-stroke engines and electric starters.

As demonstrated throughout the day, these new karts are extremely competitive, reliable and provide an equal opportunity for all the teams to win. During the two qualifying rounds, 16 teams were less than one second apart.

Before the start of the first race, Mr. Bruns, representing the Automobilclub von Deutschland, officially launched the championship.
After the national anthem, with the teams jockeying for position on the starting line, the team leaders gave the drivers some last minute instructions. The race director, Wolfgang Kraus, waved the green flag and the drivers set off on their warm-up lap.

Finally, the first race of the season got underway with an audience of 300 people composed of team members and spectators.
After a bit of jostling at the start, the peleton quickly established itself.

Halfway through the first 3-hour race, it was already clear who the favorites were.
Four different teams were in the lead at various points in the race and they fought to the end to win the first victory of the season: team Rebi Racing, team Nasenbohrer, the Italian team Dados Racing Milano and the visiting team Dream Multimedia.
Thanks to their good race strategy and perfect relays and pit-stops, Team Rebi Racing from Filderstadt crossed the finish line first under the checkered flag, scoring the first 20 points of the championship counting towards the AvD Kart Challenge. Dream Multimedia came in second, ahead of Dados Racing Milano.

The karts were tuned up during the break between the two races by a Sodi mechanic flown in from France, which gave the teams a little extra recovery time.

For this first race of the season, the host track brought in historic karts from the 70s and 80s to provide entertainment during the breaks.

After the mechanics finished, the drivers took their starting positions for the second race of the day.
Once again, after a bunched-up start, the peleton quickly got organized.
About 30 minutes into the race, it looked as though things would be different this time. Teams that had been in the middle of the peleton during the first race were now in the lead.
The teams Wir Lernen Es Nie and KFF Racing were often in the first place, and Kartschule Racing and Herkules Racing Team also managed to take the lead once or twice.

But after 2 hours, Rebi Racing once again got out in front and stayed ahead of the pack until the finish.
Behind them, MKN Racing, Dados Racing Milano and Dream Multimedia battled it out for second and third place.

In the end, the Italians got their second podium of the day, coming in second. MKN Racing squeezed ahead just before the finish, securing third place and 15 valuable points in the championship.

In the Sodi World Series Master Cup international ranking, Rebi Racing is in first place.

The day was a complete success, except for the problems encountered in transmitting the times to the stands, which meant that the teams had trouble finding out the exact lap times of their drivers and had to do with results on paper or the announcements over the PA system.

The organizer heartily congratulated all the teams for their professionalism on the track and friendliness in the paddock, which contributed to the success of the exciting day.
Before leaving, the Italian team Dados Racing Milano praised the organizers by saying: “This is the best organization we’ve seen in a long time, and we race all over Europe.”

We thank all the teams and look forward to the second event, which will take place on May 9 in Wittgenborn, Hesse.