Third place at the end for Marc Gerstenkorn
Tire poker costs Swiss the title
Marc Gerstenkorn has been one of the big favorites for the title of German Junior Kart Champion since the start of the season. The big showdown now took place at the weekend in Franciacorta (Italy). Four drivers still had a chance of winning the overall title and they were all very close together. In the end, a tire poker decided victory or defeat.
Marc Gerstenkorn traveled to the season finale in Italy with three wins under his belt. The championship was to be decided on the 1,300-meter track. However, the battle at the top could not have been closer. The top four drivers were separated by just a few points, so it was clear that the best driver at the weekend would lift the championship trophy.
Marc made a solid start to the race and was in fifth place after qualifying and the heats. As a result, he collected important championship points and was looking forward to the final Sunday: “Tomorrow will be a tough fight for the title. We’ve moved closer together again today. The weather forecasts are very mixed, which could make things even more exciting.”
As if the boy from Landshut had known. It rained on Sunday and the conditions were not clear for the first junior final. Some of the field opted for rain tires, others for slicks. Marc was one of the latter. But the track was still too wet and Marc had no chance with his treadless tires. In the end, he had to end the race prematurely and lost important points.
Everyone lined up for the second race on wet tires. The TB Racing Team protégé tried to limit the damage, but struggled with a lack of top speed due to an incorrect gear ratio. As a result, he was unable to finish higher than sixth and missed out on the big win. Marc was seven points short of winning the championship.
“Of course I’m disappointed. When you lead the championship all year and then miss out by a wafer-thin margin just before the end, it would be strange to be satisfied. But the title fight was very fair and everyone had the necessary respect. It was fun, unfortunately we simply chose the wrong tires in the first final, otherwise it might have turned out differently. I still finished third on the podium and can be proud of that,” said the 13-year-old, summing up the final.
by Björn Niemann, www.fast-media.eu – www.kart-magazin.de
