The home stretch of the Rotax MAX Challenge Euro Trophy is in sight. This coming weekend, the international Rotax racing series will usher in the all-important duels of the championship with the last stop of this year's racing calendar. For this purpose, a premiere awaits the numerous players from all over the world: For the first time, the racing circus will make a guest appearance at the Paul Fletcher International Circuit in England, thus providing completely new challenges in the individual classifications.
The championship duels in the RMC Euro Trophy are approaching the grand finale. After the past race events on this year's agenda, rounds seven and eight are scheduled for the weekend of September 9 and 10 in Brandon, England. Almost 200 drivers from a large number of nations have submitted their entries for the major event, promising plenty of action.
The key data for the race event already makes people sit up and take notice. The 1,382-meter-long course in Great Britain was included in the season planning of the top-class race series for the first time this year. In addition to the new venue and country, the range of categories is also extended to the eight classes we saw at the opening round in Genk. Besides the Junior, Senior and DD2 categories, the younger drivers of the Mini MAX will also be competing for their third and final round. The grid is completed by the competitors in the Rotax E20 electric karts. Here, the participants in the E20 Junior, Senior and Masters categories will be fighting for the championship victories and the associated tickets for the Grand Finals in Bahrain.
Cole Denholm (Dan Holland Racing) has the best chance of winning the Mini MAX title. The Briton leads the overall standings by a razor-thin margin ahead of his compatriot Jacob Ashcroft (Dan Holland Racing) and will give everything for his victory this weekend. In the Junior MAX field, Mateja Radenkovic (Bouvin Power) currently holds the top position ahead of Timo Jungling (Dan Holland Racing) and is consequently considered the title favorite. In the Senior MAX, too, nothing has been decided yet. Only four points currently separate championship leader Mark Kimber (Strawberry Racing) and P2 Sean Butcher (KR Sport).
In the DD2, on the other hand, the season has been somewhat clearer. Martijn Van Leeuwen (Schepers Racing) has won all the races so far and is therefore leading the class with a slight advantage. Enzo Bol (SP Motorsport) from the Netherlands and the Pole David Aulejtner (Wyrzykowski Motorsport) are lurking behind and still want to have a say in the title fight. In the DD2 Masters classification, Martynas Tankevicius (Lenktyniu Linija) will start the final as the leader of the standings. Denis Thum (Kraft Motorsport) and Nicolas Picot, however, are within reach to make the races exciting. In the E20 classes, Antoine Lemieux (Junior), Tijs Daems (Senior) and Andreas Matis (Masters) start the home stretch to the end of the season leading their respective fields.
Practice sessions begin Wednesday and Thursday. After the timed practice sessions on Friday, the individual heats will finally produce the top-ranked drivers of the event, who will compete against each other in the races on Sunday. From home, the action can be followed via live timing as well as live streaming at www.rotaxmaxchallenge-eurotrophy.com. In addition, the Rotax Global App is also available for smartphone users (free download from the App Store or Google Play). Furthermore, the hashtag #rotaxmaxeurotrophy can be used on the social media channels to see all the latest news from the weekend.