Champions crowned at the Grand Festival and E-Kart Cup in Sarno
This year’s edition of the Rotax MAX Challenge Grand Festival for Micro MAX and Mini MAX took place in Italy on August 30-31, where the new title-holders were celebrated after much intensely contested racing. The maiden Rotax E-Kart Cup Italy also featured on the program, organised by the Authorised Rotax Distributor Kart-Shop Italia and run in conjunction with the national RMC series with race entries totalling 144 drivers.
Hosted by the fast 1,670-metre Circuito Internazionale Napoli, the chosen venue for the 2024 RMC Grand Finals, the youngest Rotax categories brought together 15 different nations. It was ultimately a UK double victory when the chequered flag was waved – Albert Pharoah in Micro MAX and Oliver Spencer in Mini MAX. In the Rotax E20 Senior class, Raul Vargas of Spain returned to the electric kart grid in Italy to succeed in his pursuit of yet another RMCGF invitation.
This was the very first time the Rotax Grand Festival has gone south to ‘The Boot’ and the locals were obviously hoping to be a dominant force in 2025. The concept of this special event aims to encourage more widespread participation offering ‘international’ level experience and to enable local competitors a chance to compete in their own region within the RMC framework. In both classes, there were numerous drivers who showed clear potential to seal the Festival title. The Micro- and Mini MAX champions were presented with their invitation RMC Grand Finals tickets to the highlight event on the Rotax Racing calendar in the Kingdom of Bahrain (Nov. 29 – Dec. 6).
Switzerland’s Jules Ballinari set the pace in the morning qualifying, while Albi-Jay Stubbs of the UK and the UAE entry Guido Ebergenyi won the heat races to earn a front-row start in the final showdown. Stubbs and Pharoah shared the lead most in the seven long laps of the big Naples circuit, with a five-way fight for the lead in the closing moments. The Emirates’ driver followed Pharoah to break away from the group, surprising him as he slipped by for P1 with the flag in sight; only to lose it across the line in an exciting finish. Pharoah was champion. Ballinari was the top independent driver in P6 and won a brand new Rotax 125 MAX Evo engine.
1st – Albert Pharoah (UK) SFR Motorsport - LN
2nd - Guido Ebergenyi (UAE) MLC - Kosmic
3rd – Daniel Yoon (KOR) DHR - LN
Adam Pirvu hit the spotlight in the strong field of 10-13 year-olds when the quick Romanian secured pole position in official timed practice. Arthur Pharoah won the following two heats ahead of various rivals on each occasion, so the points for the intermediate classification were closely matched. Fellow Brit Oliver Spencer started alongside the poleman in the final. As the laps counted down, UAE-based Australian Ava Lawrence worked her way up from grid 7 into second place, narrowly missing the victory by less than a tenth to an elated Spencer. Italy’s Kevin Turbo took home a new Rotax MAX engine as best-ranked independent driver in eighth.
1st – Oliver Spencer (UK) KR Sport - Kosmic
2nd – Ava Lawrence (UAE) Strawberry Racing - OTK
3rd – Arthur Pharoah (UK) SFR Motorsport - LN
Spain’s Marcos de Dios Gutierrez took pole with a lap just 0.039 faster than Adaam Szabo in qualifying. Yet the student from Hungary was too good when it came to the heats. Another Spanish-Hungarian duo, Raul Vargas and Anna Benedek, were on equal points in the tally for the final grid in P2 and P3 respectively, with only one point the gap to Szabo starting on pole. The contest for positions shuffled the field, with the added strategic E20 Boost feature keeping the track action interesting. Vargas managed to get the break he needed for the victory over teammates Akos Madaras and Szabo in a great battle for the inaugural Italian E-Kart Cup title. The champion will join Team Spain in Bahrain in what will be his third RMCGF campaign.
1st – Raul Vargas (ESP) JL Lopez Motorsport - SODI Kart
2nd – Akos Madaras (HUN) KMS – SODI Kart
3rd – Adaam Szabo (HUN) KMS – SODI Kart
“For our team at Kart-Shop Italia it was a real pleasure to see so many international drivers from all over the world here racing on this famous track in Italy,” explains Reto Carigiet from Kart-Shop Italia. “In this fantastic sport of karting, we have shared the passion of competition for so many years and this event gave everyone the opportunity to experience Rotax racing in Italy, We want to congratulate the three RMCGF ticket winners as well as all the other drivers for their success.”
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