By SKIP BANDELE sport@algarveresident.com
Last Saturday saw the climax of Rotax World Finals following a week of top class karting action at the Portimão Motor Park.
In the presence of the Portuguese Secretary of State for Youth and Sport, Dr Alexandre Mestre, the championship races in the six age-related categories involving 300 drivers between the ages of eight and 58 assumed a distinctly British flavour right from the off.
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In the opening 125 Junior Max decider Harry Webb came from 22nd on the grid to claim top individual honours as well as giving the UK the best possible start in the overall Nations Cup classifications. The subsequent 125 Max contest then saw a close tussle between Ireland’s Charlie Eastwood and UK duo Edward Barnd and Oliver Hodgson, with Eastwood just getting the better of his opponents at the finishing line.
The veterans 125 Max DD2 Masters provided South African Cristiano Morgado with a hat-trick of victories in the history of these finals with UK driver David Griffith taking third place, a feat repeated by Canada’s Ben Cooper who also chalked up a third win in the 125 DD2 main event shortly afterwards.
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Although Portuguese drivers failed to make the podium in any of the categories, a special mention must go to Bruno Borlido who came from last to finish 12th in the Juniors and looks like a certain future champion, and Gonçalo Gaivão who was only just edged out of third place in the Masters. Both contributed significantly to the host country taking a highly respectable fourth place in the 53-country Nations Cup finishing order which was topped by the UK, Canada and Australia. The abundant sunshine helped make one of the biggest occasions in world kart racing into an unqualified success and organisers as well as fans will no doubt be looking forward to a return to the Algarve in the near future.
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The last week of November also saw plenty of less publicised action besides the Rotax finals at the International Autodrome of the Algarve (AIA).
Between November 25 and 28, JRM Racing chose the track to unveil its latest Nissan GT-R GT3 racing model to assembled teams, engineers and journalists representing Europe, Russia and the Middle East.
That event was immediately followed by a two-day visit from reigning World Supersport champion Kenan Sofuoglu who conducted tests for the Kawasaki India team in preparation of the SBK 2013 season which is scheduled to take place in Portimão in June for the sixth consecutive year.
