Fortunately, the final major event of the U18 at Bahrain went better than previous races. No dramatic crashes disrupted the start or the early laps. The combination of the two terrible prefinals placed Charles Leclerc (ART GP) in pole position with Martin Mortensen (Formula K) alongside him on the front row, Ben Barnicoat (ART GP) and Joseph Mawson (Top Kart) on the second, Frederik Schandorff (Formula K) and Marco Maestranzi (PCR) on the 3rd.
Obviously, the final ranking is crucial for obtaining the world title, there were two races to follow on the live timing screen from Apex Timing where you can also see the championship standings lap after lap.
Hubert Petit (Sodi) could not start due to technical problems. Leclerc immediately took control ahead of his teammate Barnicoat and Mawson, Mortensen losing time in 8th position. The top 3 of the pack then started to focus on their battle for the victory. Meanwhile, we watched Henry Easthope (Sodi) and 16th starter Anthoine Hubert (Formula K) 31st on the grid, both drivers in contention for the title with Leclerc. Due to the growing gaps over the laps, these two excellent drivers progressed in fits and starts, changing the virtual classification with some suspense.
The suspense was also maintained by the struggle for victory. Mawson was especially fast in second position and then went ahead on lap 7 and Savona had joined the trio to spice up the case when Leclerc fell to 3rd. Easthope then approached 12th position and Hubert 22nd. But on his own in the race, the mission was not easy. Under the threat from Savona, Leclerc pondered in second position, taking advantage of the protection, accidental or not, of Barnicoat. Savona therefore needed to attack Barnicoat who replied promptly and firmly. While Hubert dropped out of the top 20, not helped by a frame that was twisted in Prefinal 2, Leclerc was in the lead of the Championship, but Easthope continued to move up the top 10.
On the last lap, Mawson managed to retain his first place from Leclerc who was still able to overtake and overcome any mechanical weaknesses, winning the race by 0.150”. Barnicoat kept his 3rd place by 0.039” from Savona. Meanwhile, Easthope moved up two places ahead of his compatriot Graham and Mäntylä who were battling. The calculations were complete, Easthope won the 2012 U18 World Championship in, probably run for the last time under that name.
Info Kartcom with Kartlink / © Photos KSP