At the Italian circuit in Franciacorta, Tamás Gender Junior had to deal with an unfamiliar engine and tires, despite being familiar with the track. The racer participating in the sixth round of the Italian IAME series and quickly found the rhythm.
Tamás Gender Junior competed in the sixth round of the Italian IAME series last weekend in Franciarcorta. Competing in the X30 Junior category, the athlete was only familiar with the track, as he had to deal with both the X30 engine and the tyres to get up to speed with the 51-strong field. After Thursday’s test, the Forza Racing driver started Friday’s free practice in the 11th place and then moved into the lead in the qualifying as he finished 3rd in his group and 3rd overall.
Tamás Gender Junior was able to start from the second row of the starting grid in the three heats, and already in the first one he showed that he can compete with the best not only in qualifying, but also in the race. He finished in the 8th place, but as the bumper of his kart fell in, he was classified in the 16th place after a penalty.
The next day, the top 10 result was indeed achieved, but unfortunately, it couldn’t be repeated in the third heat due to an accident involving the Hungarian karting driver. As a result, their kart was damaged, and he had to give up the fight. However, he still made it to the Prefinal and after an initial setback he finished in the 16th place. He passed seven of his rivals, but got a penalty which dropped him back to the 22nd position, where he finished the Franciacorta round of the IAME series.
“I had a great start to the weekend in Friday’s qualifying, and I even finished in the 3rd position and overtook another driver in my fastest lap – started Tamás Gender Junior. – In the first race, I had a good run to move up to the second position, but my pace was not good on the corner exits, so I couldn’t keep this position, but I still finished in the top ten. The start was similar in Saturday’s heats, I was at the front of the field in both races.”
„In my last heat there was an accident in front of me, which I managed to avoid by hitting a rival, which caused me to jump on the kerb and bent my axis. Unfortunately, I had to retire after that. The team worked really hard all weekend to get me a good pace, so by the Prefinal this had improved a lot. Here I started from the 18th on the outside and after a good start I managed to come inside, but I got stuck in the line and lost several positions and dropped back to the 23rd place. Thanks to my good pace, I managed to come back and finished the race in 16th place. Thanks to my team for all their hard work.”
Tamás Gender Junior will compete next at the Champions of the Future Euro Series in Cremona, Italy, from 13-15 July.
Tamás Gender Junior, X30 Junior results
Participants: 51
Qualifying: P3
Qualfying group: P3
A-B Heat: P16
A-C Heat: P9
A-D Heat: P24
Heats overall: P36
Prefinal: P22
Prefinal overall: P39
Final: –
