Christopher Feghali - Mini MAX Champ tests the cool Rotax E10
What a way to celebrate! Christopher Feghali won the Rotax Mini MAX title at the Rotax MAX Challenge Grand Finals 2022 in Portugal last November and also achieved something quite unique. But the fun didn’t stop after the podium; Christopher was invited to put the newly-launched Rotax E10 Cadet E-Kart through its paces at the demanding Portimao karting circuit.
Christopher has been closely followed by prime TV channels across the nation, throughout his successful career, who, together with the biggest TV networks in all the Middle East, shared the news of his achievement as an absolute ‘boost’ for his home country of Lebanon, inspiring both young and old. Christopher’s performance on track was dominant from qualifying through to the final, and his victory was nothing less than impressive. Starting his racing career in Micro MAX at the age of seven, he became the youngest driver ever to have won a national title at home.
The testing of the Rotax E10 Cadet E-Kart took place just one day after its launch at the RMC Grand Finals, making it an exciting opportunity for Christopher to be one of the first to experience it. The E10 was put through its paces on the demanding Portimao karting circuit, adding to Christopher’s already impressive accomplishments in the racing world.
With multiple national RMC titles to his name, plus twice-crowned champion at both the Middle East North Africa (MENA) Nations Cup and RMC International Trophy in Le Mans, the Mini MAX title was the result of the dedicated effort Christopher and his father have been working for over the past years. For the driver from Beirut, his first experience behind the wheel of the new Rotax E10 was very exciting – and also a contrast too. Although it was an identical Praga Mini MAX 950mm chassis that he won the class title with on that very same circuit, it is not really the type of modern technology embraced as yet in Lebanon.
Compared to the Mini MAX, the E10 was a positive surprise and it had a lot of power, especially out of the corners. I was a little worried about the weight distribution on the kart and on the brakes, but it exceeded my expectations.
I was really impressed when I first got to test the E10 because of all the torque that it has, especially when you use the BOOST button. It helps you throughout the corners. It helps a lot.
I was impressed by the power BOOST button! It gave me a lot of torque going out of the corner and also on the straight line. I can’t wait to race with it and use it to overtake the other drivers. The BOOST is definitely a game-changer! You would only need some time to get used to it to know the exact places to use it. As a driver, it will help to overtake and move up through the field.
Since I was four years old [when I was a little kid], I am used to driving karts with noise. But when I first drove the E10, of course it had no noise because it was an electric kart. To be honest, it was quite comforting… as it was letting me focus on my driving skills.
It’s an amazing idea of BRP-Rotax to have electric karts, it’s like the Extreme E and the Formula E. Unfortunately in our country, the government has nothing to do with that and there’s a lot of pollution. We need to cut back a lot of the emissions. While I am travelling around, me and my dad, we always see a lot of electric cars and a lot of stuff that saves the nature and the environment.
The Rotax E10 is so cool for kids
Designed to introduce children to the sport of karting for the future, the Rotax E10 allows youngsters to learn about driving e-Karts. It offers a perfect option for kids (and their parents) – with minimum wear and tear, able to focus on the driving and without having to have any real technical knowledge. It runs on one or two batteries for Bambini and Mini classes and weighs in at 66kg or 76kg respectively, so it can literally “grow” with the drivers. It has a custom control panel with LED indicators for battery status and boost status. Oh yes, about the BOOST function – it’s 20% more power for 5 seconds, available every 45 seconds. So it’s even more fun and some added strategy for the competition. Depending on the circuit, drive time is 20 minutes with under an hour charging time from a regular power outlet and the e-powertrain can be fitted to any standard 950mm chassis.
