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| July 26, 2012 |
| Driver News: Santino Ferrucci: CIK-FIA European Championship - PF International Circuit Report |
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 | | Santino Ferrucci |
It was with a bit of disappointment that Santino Ferrucci left England, after a 5th place in the CIK-FIA European KF3 Championship Race. Taking place at the famed PF International Raceway, recently renovated with a bridge in turn 3, Santino had little time to learn this complex circuit. With no prior testing he had four sessions before qualifying, two on Thursday and two on Friday. The sessions were a mix of wet and dry which made learning that much more difficult but the American pilot was up for the challenge.
Santino has joined the best drivers in the world in a class that averages 113 entries per race from around the globe. A few months ago, he stepped up to this new level in karting and is now more mature and highly capable of anticipating and managing complex race conditions when pressure is high. A candidate for the European title sitting in 5th overall, the task became extremely difficult as in Heat one his engine would fail on the pace lap, therefore a last and 26 points. Now there was no room for mistakes in the next four heats and Santino remained focused and gave his best from the beginning of each race. It is indisputable and nobody can deny that he is now one of the elite drivers in KF3 in the world.
The analysis of his results during the English round of the European KF3 Championship is enlightening on this aspect. During timed qualifying, the rain soaked the highly technical and very difficult circuit of PF Santino was in the last group and set the 3rd fastest lap time. In both finals on Sunday he drove the second half of the races without brakes, an issue that went unresolved in between races.
On Saturday the rain stopped over Lincolnshire England and after a disaster in Heat 1 Santino fought back to finish the next four heats 2nd, 3rd, 6th and 3rd. The 26 points taken in Heat one would push Santino back to 21st in the overall standings, and in the inside of Row 11 for the Pre-Final on Sunday.
On Sunday in the Prefinal Santino couldn’t avoid a heavy crash under the bridge on lap one and when the karts cleared he was 33rd. On the bright side the damage on the kart would not prohibit his performance as he was one of the fastest on the track and after the 15 laps he would finish 16th securing a row 8 position for the final. “That was probably one of the best drives I have ever had”, stated Santino. “My hand was throbbing the entire time and the kart was heavily damaged when I was ran over. I didn’t have much issue with the steering being way off but I lost my brakes about halfway through”, he told the British Media with his eyes wide open. “I was stopping the kart with the front end and to be honest, it was pretty scary at 80mph”.
The Final was vintage Santino. Starting in the 16th position he would hold that spot on lap one and then his race craft took over. Santino surgically and aggressively carved his way through the field for a very impressive 5th place finish. With less than a tenth of a second separating the top 20, moving up to fifth is a formidable task.
Santino leaves England on a positive note and heads back to America to race in the ultra competitive United States Rotax Grand Nationals. “While I feel I could have won the CIK European Championship, I am satisfied with my 6th place world ranking. Now I head back to America to the Rotax Finals where the racing will be even more competitive as the Rotax kids in the US are extremely talented”. After the Rotax Nationals Santino will compete in the CIK-FIA World Cup, will be held in late September on the Spanish circuit of Zuera, another track that he has not seen.
Santino would like to thank Energy Corse principal Mick Panigada for his support, his mechanic Stewart Gibson, Dennis Olsen for his advice and mentoring and Alpine Stars.
Facebook: Santino Ferrucci
Twitter: @SantinoFerrucci
Website: http://www.santinoferrucci.com |
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