Marc Gerstenkorn joins the German top five
After his first outings with the shifter kart in Italy, Marc Gerstenkorn has now entered the German championship. The season opener took place last weekend in Mariembourg. The rookie held his own in a strong field of competitors and was on course for a top-five finish.
In Germany, Marc Gerstenkorn is returning to the well-known Kartshop Ampfing team. At the age of 14, the youngster from Landshut is the youngest driver in the DMSB Shifter Kart Cup (DSKC) field, with five events in Germany and Belgium – starting in Mariembourg. This was the first time that the 1,352-meter-long track was included in the racing calendar of the German championship and was also new territory for Marc. With a total of 50 riders, his class was top-class.
Marc adapted very quickly to the new conditions and made a perfect start to the race in fifth place in qualifying. The fact that this success was no coincidence was confirmed in the heats. He had to achieve a good position twice in order to be well prepared for the final Sunday. In the end, Marc was in seventh place overall and was therefore fully on course.
The next challenge followed on Sunday morning. It had rained during the night and the track was slightly slippery. However, the change was no problem for the Swiss-born driver. With fourth place in the Super Heat, Marc had a promising starting position for the grand finale.
On a dry track again, a close fight broke out at the front. The riders changed positions several times per lap. In the end, the newcomer crossed the finish line in an excellent eighth place and is now looking forward to the rest of the season: “I’m very happy with the start. We established ourselves among the front runners throughout the weekend and are building on that. My team has provided me with a good package, now it’s time to gain more experience in the shifter kart and to contest the upcoming races again without any major problems.”
The next DSKC race will take place from May 31st to June 1st in Mülsen, Saxony. The same venue will also host a round of the European Karting Championship this year, where Marc will face the entire European elite.
by Björn Niemann, www.fast-media.eu – www.kart-magazin.de